A week after the adoption of the decree establishing the Strategic Investment Fund, to which will be allocated an envelope of 45 billion dirhams (MMDH), multiple sources of financing are put forward by experts and analysts.

Tax revenues, the issuance of national investment bonds, the sale of "non-strategic" public assets or the solicitation of foreign financing from the various development banks, are among others the various avenues likely to constitute elements of the financial package of this fund.

But it is still necessary to activate the right levers to ensure an optimal positive impact on an economy in search of the slightest glimmer of hope to allow its actors to recover after the asphyxiating crisis of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).

This fund, whose creation takes place in application of the High Instructions of HM King Mohammed VI contained in the Royal Speech addressed to the Nation on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of throne day, will benefit from 15 billion dirhams from the General State Budget (BGE) of 2020 and 30 billion dirhams will be mobilized with national and international institutions.

It is in this sense that the international expert in strategy and economic diplomacy, Amine Laghidi, said, in a statement to the MAP, that the 15 billion dirhams that constitute a third of the allocations of this Fund are already budgeted.

Budgetary revenues coming mainly from tax sources can also benefit from the valuation of non-strategic assets (land, depots and buildings, etc.) of certain public institutions, in a logic of cash flow creation and financial liquidity, he noted.

The State can also resort to the optimization of synergies (mergers between structures in the same sector ...) by creating more performance, noted the expert, adding that the raising of funds internally of the country via national investment bonds (treasury bills open to the general public oriented investment by a special account) is is also a good alternative to debt.

"To feed the Fund, we can use investment bonds to mobilize the national debt and cash from hoarding and sometimes from the informal sector," he said.

Like tax revenues, Mr. Laghidi noted that the contribution of private structures with public capital, either through indebtedness (direct from banks) or through a direct contribution for successful companies with budget surpluses or high profitability can be sources, among others, to finance this public allocation account.

Focusing on the potential disadvantages of debt, he said that the internal debt of the State to banks limits the access of VSEs and SMEs to financing especially in this period, noting that the direct foreign debt of the State limits the sovereign prerogatives.

This situation requires finding an innovative alternative solution of national interest, he said, highlighting national investment bonds as an alternative fulfilling this function.

With regard to the national institutions potentially contributing to the Fund, Mr. Laghidi, cited public investment funds and funds, national private funds, Moroccan banks directly by subscription or via the investment funds at their disposal, national insurances, as well as funds from the various regional development agencies (north, south, east)... as potential subscribers.

As for the rest of the financing, which will be provided by foreign institutions, the expert in economic diplomacy has mentioned potentially, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(EBRD) and the World Bank.

It is also a question of considering a partnership with global private equity funds but also some sovereign wealth funds to a lesser extent (question of independence and financial and economic sovereignty), he continued.

The expert also stressed the major importance of partner selection, noting that financial alignment "is not enough" and that strategic alignment with partners is a sine qua none for the success of the Fund.

For his part, Omar Hniche, Vice-President of Mohammed V University of Rabat, in charge of academic and student affairs, indicated that, for the government, the intervention of this Fund will be in the form of direct investment, in the case of major infrastructure projects in public-private partnership (PPP), or indirect by strengthening the capital of companies, in particular MSMEs (Private Equity) for the purposes of their growth.

"The choice of major investment projects to be financed will have to be made on the basis of preliminary feasibility studies taking into account a number of criteria, in particular, the impact of the project on employment, its ability to reduce disparities, especially territorial disparities, and its effects on improving the standard of living of the citizens," he said.

To reach 120 billion dirhams, 75 billion dirhams will be injected by the banks in the form of loans guaranteed by the State and managed by the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG). "5 billion dirhams will be provided by the Covid-19 Fund to cover the default risks of the beneficiary companies", recalled Mr. Hniche.

This device allows a financing of the economic fabric, via bank loans, with a duration ranging from 5 years to 10 years with advantageous conditions in terms of interest rates and grace period, explained the academic.

For Mr. Hniche, also director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Performance and Competitiveness (CIRPEC), all companies are concerned, particularly MSMEs, which represent nearly 95% of the Moroccan economic fabric and which constitute the backbone of our economy." At this level almost 80% of these companies were in total shutdown during the period of confinement," he remarked.

Nevertheless, experience has shown that the use of conventional bank financing mechanisms has still not had the expected effects on VSEs, despite the very low interest rates and the reduction of bank guarantees requested, noted the academic.

Also concerned are the establishments and public companies (EEP) most impacted by the crisis (Royal Air Maroc, National Airports Office, MARSA Morocco, ONCF, etc.), he said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly affected the global economy as a whole. Morocco, served since the beginning of the health crisis as a model for many other countries through its exemplary management, is inevitably not spared the economic and social consequences that shake the whole world. The stimulus package that will be adopted is intended to reshape the economy in depth and plausibly serve as a basis for building the new development model.