Morocco raises 1b euros bond on international market

RABAT –– Morocco has raised one billion euros ($0.7 billion) on the international market in a 10-year bond at 3.5 per cent, Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaid said on Friday. The bond marks the kingdom's "return" to the Euro market and involves British, French, German, Gulf Arab and other investors, Boussaid told AFP. The 3.5 per cent loan rate is less than that obtained on the dollar market in 2012-2013, showing the "confidence in Morocco's economic and political stability”, he said. Boussaid said Rabat had taken out the bond because "market conditions allow it to consider this venture with much confidence". The kingdom showed during the global financial crisis that it had a "resilient economy" and had begun reforming and consolidating its public finances, Boussaid said.