Wealth & Finance July 2017

33 July 2017 “Within the continent, Morocco offers stability, and an attractive busi- ness environment supported by well-established regulatory bodies. In terms of investments opportunities in the sectors of infrastructures, the country demonstrates a strong commitment to improve the quality and availability of infrastructures through several ambitious programs. In Transport (rail, roads, airports, ports), the total investment requirement up to 2030 is close to $25 billion. In Energy, 52% of the installed capac- ity shall use renewable sources by 2035, which involves an additional capacity of 10 GW from renewable sources representing an investment of $10 billion. Morocco launched also a Gaz to Power infrastructure program that would require a total investment of more than $5 billion.” Reflecting on the past twelve months, Ihsane Rihane and Hamza El Kabbaj, both Investment Directors of Infra Invest, inform us of how portfolio compa- nies operate in different sectors: ports, renewable energy (wind and solar) and industry linked to infrastructures. Each of them addresses a strong demand, contributes to the reinforcement of the offer leading to decreasing prices for clients, and has a positive social and environmental impact. “In the port sector, ARIF owns 20% of the shareholding of Mass Céréales Al Maghreb (Morocco), alongside tier-one local and internation- al partners. The company operates two grain terminals under long-term port concession agreements, and demonstrates: a total offloading rate of more than 3 million tons per year, a total storage capacity of 110.000 ton. The company has a substantial impact on the sector’s development through international best practices, reducing significantly demurrage and dwell time, leading to substantial savings in the logistics costs, with an environment and social management at the highest standards. “In the wind sector, ARIF owns 25% of the shareholding of the Khalladi 120 MW wind project, alongside the tier-one international sponsor. The company is the second private-to-private wind farms in Morocco, and probably in Africa. Morocco is the first country in Africa to implement a legal framework allowing the private sector to sell electricity from renewable sources directly to private consumers, with the intermediation of the national grid for the transmission. This initiative allowed unlocking both the private initiative and the potential of renewable energy of the country in order to meet with a growing electricity demand almost at 7% p.a. in average, and improve the energy mix of the country. The revenues of Khalladi project are secured through long-term contracts with strong private industrials off takers with competitive tariffs compared to the national utility prices. The project con- tributes to the decrease of the energy cost to the clients and to the country, and has a positive social and environment impact (social program, job creation, 144,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided, etc.). As for the wider industry, Abdellatif Nasserdine notes on the challenges facing the industry as well future developments and ways in which Infra Invest will adapt around these. “The challenges facing the industry of private investments in infrastructure in the region are the project development cycles that require long term in- vestments. Early stage exposure is critical for deal sourcing and portfolio de- velopment. Infra Invest model allows a broad investment in different sectors and hands-on approach in term of project development and structuring.” Company: Infra Invest Contact: Abdellatif Nasserdine (Managing Partner), and Ihsane Rihane (Investment Director) Email: [email protected] [email protected] Address: 30, Bd Moulay Youssef, 20 000 Casablanca, Morocco Phone: + 212 (0) 5 22 42 91 33