|
Following a program of public enterprise restructuring starting in 1981, the Moroccan
parliament enacted a privatization law that came into effect in 1990. The law listed 112
enterprises to be privatized, accounting for 40 percent of the state's portfolio, including major
commercial banks, financial holdings, large industrial enterprises, and a number of hotels.
Based on the law, the regulatory and administrative framework for privatization was
subsequently put in place. Actual sales of enterprises started in 1993, and the pace gathered
momentum during 1994-95. In early 1995, the parliament amended the privatization law to
include two large refineries and extended the period during which privatization was
authorized from end-1995 to end-1998.
By mid-1995, 34 enterprises had been privatized, including a large commercial bank,
the state's biggest financial holding company, and various smaller enterprises and hotels,
yielding about DH 5.3 billion in total budget receipts (US$0.6 billion or 1.9 percent of the
1994 GDP). The methods of privatization varied, and included tenders, direct negotiations,
and sales through the stock market. In a number of cases, a small part of the company's shares
was sold to its employees at discounted prices. Sales to "core" investors were conducted on
the basis of competitive tenders or direct negotiations; buyers typically had to commit to a
number of obligations concerning investments and to a minimum duration of involvement.
The privatization program contributed to the development of the stock market and attracted
foreign equity investment. Furthermore, employment generally increased in the privatized
firms.
The Government is now preparing a second phase that would extend privatization to
hitherto excluded sectors. In addition, it is opening to private sector activity certain services
that were previously in the exclusive domain of the state or the municipalities, such as
electricity generation and management of urban water and energy distribution. |
