Foreign direct investment in Morocco up 45 pct in first 11 months

RABAT, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The foreign direct investment in Morocco increased by 45.7 percent to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, the country's Foreign Exchange Office said Friday.

The North African country's trade deficit increased by 56.9 percent year-on-year by the end of November, according to the report published by the office.

The deficit comes as a result of a faster growth of imports, which rose 42.3 percent to 64.7 billion dollars, while exports rose 33.1 percent to 37.3 billion dollars.

The energy bill has more than doubled to 13.6 billion dollars during the first 11 months, according to the report.