September 22, 2000 - 92nd. Issue -

A TRAPPED ABBAS EL-FASSI By Arezki Daoud

Abbas El-Fassi, the head of the Istiqlal party and a rival of prime minister Abderhman Youssoufi accepted to take charge of a very difficult ministry. His department has inherited a number of tough issues waiting to be resolved in urgency. They include the labor code, the fate of the controversial social security administration CNSS and unemployment.

Looking ahead, the most important issue facing Morocco is with El-Fassi's entry into the government, the executive branch risks to become the scene of rivalry between Youssoufi's USFP party and El-Fassi's Istiqlal. The two parties have always fought for leadership in their Koutla coalition, a situation that could trouble the government.

Algerian Energy
TOWARDS RECORD BREAKING REVENUES
With oil prices exceeding $30 per barrel, it's no surprise that Algeria is set to break its own record in export revenues. That country is cashing in some $1.5 billion a month and at this rate, its oil sales would reach $15 billion by the end of September year-to-date. In comparison with the most favorable periods of the last 20 years, 2000 appears to be a record breaking year for Algeria in hydrocarbons sales.

Moroccan Agriculture
DEADLY VIRUS TO DESTROY HALF TOMATO OUTPUT
Output of Moroccan tomato is about to collapse with expected decline of harvest by half the previous farming season. Officials and farmers put the blame on a killer virus called the tomato yellow leal-curl virus or TYLCV that hit hard this particular farming product. The sector's association, the Association des producteurs-exportateurs des fruits et légumes (Apefel), says no single producing region in Morocco is spared by this virus. It expects tomato harvest to drop by 50%.

Algeria - Restructuring
AT EVE OF LIBERALIZATION, JAPANESE CORPORATIONS EYE ALGERIA'S TELECOM SECTOR
The decision of the Algerian government to liberalize the telecommunications sector is attracting the attention of Japanese corporations. NEC and Marubeni of Japan are interested in the changes ahead joining companies like Italia Telecom, Portugal Telecom and Alcatel who will be seeking entry into a virgin telecom market.

Tunisian - Samurai Bond
Tunisia Scores Unprecedented Success With First-Ever Global Samurai Bond Issue
Tunisia has scored a world première on international capital markets with the success of its Td600 million "Global Samurai" bond issue in Japan.

Algerian Energy
A MATURING SONATRACH WANTS GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES
The French energy company TotalFinaElf has signaled its intention to invest in the Algeria oil business. It said it is ready to cooperate with Algeria's Sonatrach on joint projects. These projects would focus on the areas of oil and gas exploration and the extraction of existing reserves.

Algeria - Infrastructure Financing
THE FRENCH DEMAND CLEAR LEGISLATION
A recent debate on public-private partnership in the area of infrastructure held in Algiers' Sofitel hotel, ended with the French participants demanding a more reliable legislation in Algeria that would secure their investments and commitments in the North African country.