The Moroccan government is gearing up to borrow 60 billion dirhams (approximately 6.1 billion USD) from international sources in 2027, maintaining the same amount projected in the current 2026 budget. This information was revealed in the preliminary memorandum for the 2027 finance bill, which was presented to Parliament last Friday and is set for discussion next Wednesday.
According to the memorandum, the total expected resources from medium and long-term borrowing are estimated to reach 120 billion dirhams (around 12.2 billion USD) for the upcoming year, a slight decline from the 123 billion dirhams (approximately 12.5 billion USD) allocated in the 2026 budget, reflecting a 2.4% decrease.
The document indicates that external borrowing resources will remain stable at 60 billion dirhams, while internal borrowing is expected to decrease to 60 billion dirhams, down from 63 billion dirhams (around 6.4 billion USD) in the current year. Hence, the anticipated borrowing in 2027 will be evenly divided between internal and external financing.
In contrast, the government anticipates a rise in the ordinary resources of the general budget, excluding borrowing revenues, to 482 billion dirhams (approximately 49 billion USD) in 2027, up from 421 billion dirhams (around 42.8 billion USD) in 2026, marking a notable increase of 14.5%.
During the presentation of the budget project to Parliament, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Fawzi Lekjaa, projected a slowdown in economic growth to 3.7% in 2027, compared to the earlier forecast of 4.7% by the end of the current year. Lekjaa emphasized that the government aims to keep the budget deficit at 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amidst a backdrop of continued global uncertainty, rising geopolitical conflict costs, and increasing protectionist trends.
It is important to note that the government's growth projections for 2027 differ from those of Bank Al-Maghrib (the central bank), which estimated in September that economic growth would be 4.4% in 2026, down from 4.9% in 2025, before slowing to 2.9% in 2027.
As reported by aa.com.tr.
