IF ONLY GEORGE HAD BEEN A MOHAMMED:

Morocco and capitalism: A beautiful friendship (A. Craig Copetas, August 8, 2007, Bloomberg News)

With a market capitalization of $47.2 billion representing 69 companies, the 77-year-old bourse is hardly visible when compared with the $13.4 trillion market value of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Still, the exchange in Casablanca and the one in Kuwait are the best-performing of the 10 in the Arab world.

"It's a burgeoning market with a great deal of potential," says Henry Azzam, 56, Deutsche Bank's chief executive officer for the Middle East and North Africa. "Casablanca is the business center of the Maghreb." [...]

Badr Alioua, fixed-income and equity manager at the local Attijariwafa Bank, says King Mohammed VI, 43, has made the city the hottest place for business in the Arab world. Morocco's gross domestic product grew 8.1 percent in 2006, up from 1.7 percent in 2005. Moody's Investors Service rates the country as "stable," with credit strengths that include a young population, as well as structural and democratic progress.

Alioua says the king's embrace of capitalism and free speech, as well as a tolerant interpretation of the Koran, ensures that educated young Moroccans will not flee the country.

"The youth factor of this market is critically important to our continued success," said Alioua, 27. "Casablanca is like the movie: a place where young people are willing to take risk. 'Casablanca' is the main reason why Americans know about us, and we must take advantage of that."

Happy the country where the king leads the Reformation.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2007 11:52 AM