Two economic articles of note

The Inter Press Service published a pair of my articles this week looking at economic developments across North Africa in the automotive and electronics manufacturing sectors. Excerpts from the stories, as well as link to the full articles on the Inter Press Service website, are included below.

MD

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TRADE: North Africa a Launch Pad For Auto Markets

By Michael Deibert

Inter Press Service

PARIS, Sep 25 (IPS) - When French car company Renault SA and its Japanese partner, Nissan Motor Co., announced their intention to build a joint assembly plant in Tangier, Morocco at an estimated cost of 1 billion euros, it was a substantial enough investment to make auto industry analysts take notice.

The labour-rich swath of the five countries that make up North Africa, with their easy access to the Mediterranean Sea and the entirety of sub-Saharan African unfurling to their south, are becoming an increasingly important -- and strategic -- centre for auto production.

Read the full article here.


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TRADE: 'Silicon Ribbon' Pops Up Across the Maghreb

By Michael Deibert

Inter Press Service

PARIS, Sep 29 (IPS) - Poised attractively near to the European market and with an abundance of skilled labour, North Africa may be poised to become an electronics manufacturing hub.

An assessment released this month by the California-based consulting firm Frost & Sullivan is based on a survey of companies operating in North Africa and trade organisations governing the areas in which they operate. It found that "strategic initiatives including ensuring the effective flow of goods and services, and the building of a reliable supplier base are having a positive impact on electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers in the region."

It is a market, observers say, that began to grow organically but now is making rapid advances into the international realm, focused on the trio of North Africa's former French colonies, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, often referred to as the Maghreb countries.

Read the full article here.