00:00 Hello and welcome to your daily economy meeting on
00:09 May 1.
00:10 We start our edition today in Morocco.
00:13 Five years after the launch of Alborac, the line at high speed, the National Railway
00:18 Office announces a major step in the railway sector.
00:22 This is a large-scale project that aims to connect territories more and offer
00:28 innovative mobility solutions.
00:30 According to the ONCF, the project, valued at around 16 billion dirhams, far exceeds
00:36 the simple renewal of the railway park.
00:39 It includes the acquisition of 150 trains for intercity services, fast and metropolitan
00:45 shuttle trains, as well as 18 high-speed trains for future extensions.
00:51 According to the ONCF, this strategic choice is a response to the significant growth of
00:56 passenger traffic, to the partial replacement of the aging fleet and to the expansion towards
01:02 new destinations like Marrakech.
01:04 The other major innovation of this project is the creation of a Moroccan railway industrial ecosystem.
01:12 This ecosystem aims to stimulate the local economy, create jobs and position
01:17 Morocco as a competitive railway player on the world stage.
01:21 In the Maghreb news in Tunisia, with the succession of drought years, the agricultural sector
01:28 is expected to perform badly.
01:30 A situation that is not without consequence on the country's economy, largely dependent
01:35 on agriculture.
01:36 The level of dam reserves across Tunisia clearly reflects a chronic
01:41 rain-metric deficit , some dams showing a filling rate below 15% according to
01:48 recent official figures.
01:49 According to the Tunisian Agricultural National Union, this situation is endangering
01:55 Tunisians' food security, faced with the shortage of
02:00 wide-range products and the rise in prices that affect some primary needs.
02:05 The union also warns against the negative effects of the war in Ukraine, which have
02:11 aggravated the crisis in the agricultural sector, in particular the cereal industry.
02:15 To alleviate these failures, several environmental and economic experts have called on the state
02:21 to review its water management policy and to strengthen the resilience of the agricultural sector
02:27 in the face of climate change through dam-ded strategies.
02:31 We stay in Africa.
02:33 The South African economy could have escaped a contraction during the third quarter of
02:39 this year, but growth forecasts remain bleak.
02:43 Because of the negative performance of certain major sectors, according to data provided
02:49 by advisory committees, the sectors of the mines and industry, which represent more than
02:54 a fifth of the country's total gross domestic product, have recorded a
03:00 1.6% and 1.2% drop between June and September respectively.
03:05 Marginal economic growth expected in the third quarter is also due to the persistence
03:11 of the electricity crisis.
03:13 As for the prospects of the future, the central bank governor has made it known that the
03:18 GDP growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025 are 1% and 1.1% respectively.
03:26 According to the advisory committee, foreign investors are increasingly reluctant
03:33 to engage in the South African market due to the slowing of economic growth.
03:38 We continue our economic news with this information from the euro zone.
03:44 The European Central Bank warned on Monday about the risk of a new debt crisis in the
03:50 euro zone in the context of high rates and a deepening of budget deficits.
03:55 Higher financing costs and less prudent budgetary policies could revive
04:01 concerns.
04:02 As for the viability of sovereign debt, especially in countries where
04:07 debt levels are already high, said Luis de Guindos, vice president of the bank.
04:13 Between 2010 and 2012, Europe was faced with a debt crisis.
04:18 Part of Greece, overindebted and unable to refinance on the markets before
04:24 spreading to other countries.
04:25 The episode had feared a risk of implosion of the euro zone.
04:30 Today, it is especially Italy that is worried, given its huge public debt.
04:35 Many governments have indeed obtained good market financing over longer
04:41 periods, during the period of low interest rates.
04:44 However, the central bank's directorial rates are today at the highest, with the main
04:50 of them at 4%, to juggle inflation too high in the wake of the flaming of energy prices.
04:57 Before closing our edition today, know that after boosted profits during
05:02 the Covid-19 pandemic, maritime transport specialists know an important
05:07 decline in net results, consequence of the drop in freight and exchange rates.
05:13 The Danish group Maesk, second world company, saw its profit divided by 17 in the third
05:20 quarter.
05:21 Compared to that of the previous year, it announced the abolition of 3,500 jobs in 2024.
05:28 The benefit of the French group CMA CGM, third world, was divided by 18 in the third
05:36 quarter.
05:37 The sale of revenues of maritime transport giants is largely linked to the collapse
05:43 of freight rates between March and December 2022, until they found their levels before
05:48 the global health crisis.
05:50 The shipping of a standard 40-foot container by boat now costs more than $ 1,216,
05:58 according to the Baltic Freight Index, well away from the $ 11,109 record of September
06:05 2021.
06:06 This index, which measures the weekly price of container transport, has even fallen
06:11 to $ 1,049 at the end of October, its lowest since its launch in 2016.
06:18 We come to the end of this excellent edition of the programs on Medihan.
06:23 Thank you for listening.
06:27 (upbeat music)
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