How Morocco’s Investment Charter Works for Chinese Industrial Projects

A Practical Guide for Chinese Manufacturers Considering a Factory in Morocco

Morocco is attracting a growing number of Chinese industrial projects, particularly in automotive components, electric vehicle batteries, advanced materials, electronics and other export-oriented manufacturing sectors.

But beyond Morocco’s location, industrial zones and access to international markets, there is another factor that deserves the attention of Chinese investors:

Morocco can financially support qualifying investment projects.

Under Morocco’s new Investment Charter, eligible projects can receive investment incentives that, when the applicable bonuses are combined, can reach up to 30% of the eligible investment amount.

However, this does not mean that every company investing in Morocco automatically receives a 30% subsidy.

The system is based on specific eligibility criteria, the characteristics of the project, its location, sector, employment creation and contribution to Morocco’s economic development.

For Chinese manufacturers evaluating Morocco, understanding this mechanism before finalizing the investment structure can therefore have a significant impact on the economics of the project.

What Is Morocco’s Investment Charter?

Morocco adopted Framework Law No. 03-22 establishing the Investment Charter as part of a broader strategy to increase private investment and strengthen the country's position as an international investment hub.

The Charter has several major objectives:

• Create stable employment

• Encourage investment outside the country's traditional economic centers

• Develop priority industries

• Increase local integration

• Promote sustainable investment

• Support higher-value activities and future-oriented industries

For an industrial investor, the important point is that Morocco does not evaluate an investment only according to how much money will be spent.

The government also considers what economic impact the project will create.

Who Can Qualify?

Under the main investment support mechanism, a project can qualify through one of two main routes.

Route 1: Investment + Employment

The project must generally involve:

At least MAD 50 million of investment

AND

At least 50 stable jobs.

Route 2: Major Employment Creation

A project creating 150 or more stable jobs may qualify without being required to meet the MAD 50 million investment threshold.

This makes the mechanism particularly relevant to industrial manufacturing projects, which frequently combine substantial capital expenditure with significant employment creation.

How Can the Incentive Reach 30%?

This is where the Investment Charter becomes particularly interesting.

The main support mechanism is not simply one fixed subsidy.

Instead, different incentives can potentially be combined depending on the characteristics of the project.

The system essentially contains three layers:

Common investment bonuses

Territorial bonus

Sectoral bonus

The total government support under this mechanism can reach up to 30% of the eligible investment amount.

That maximum should be understood carefully: 30% is a ceiling, not an automatic entitlement.

1. Common Investment Bonuses

The first part of the system evaluates characteristics of the investment itself.

The Investment Charter rewards projects according to criteria connected with areas such as employment creation, gender, local integration, sustainable development, future-oriented activities and upgrading/value creation.

For a Chinese manufacturer, this means two factories with the same investment amount may not necessarily receive the same level of support.

A project that creates significant employment, develops local sourcing, introduces advanced technology or contributes to strategic industrial development may present a stronger incentive profile than a project with limited local economic impact.

2. Territorial Bonus: Location Can Matter

The location of the factory can also influence the available incentive.

Morocco wants industrial investment to spread beyond already-developed economic centers.

For this reason, qualifying projects established in designated provinces or prefectures can receive an additional territorial bonus.

Official rules provide territorial bonuses of:

10% of eligible investment for Category A territories

and

15% for Category B territories.

This creates an important strategic consideration for investors.

When comparing two potential factory locations, companies should not evaluate only land price, labor availability and logistics.

They should also ask:

How does the location affect our investment incentive package?

Sometimes a location with slightly higher logistics costs could potentially offer significantly stronger investment support.

The full economics therefore need to be compared before selecting industrial land.

3. Sectoral Bonus: What You Manufacture Matters

Morocco also wants to accelerate investment in sectors considered important to its economic development.

The Investment Charter therefore includes an additional sectoral incentive designed to encourage investment in priority sectors.

This is particularly relevant to the current wave of Chinese industrial investment.

Morocco is developing increasingly sophisticated manufacturing ecosystems around areas such as automotive production, electric mobility, advanced materials and other strategic industrial activities.

The nature of the project therefore matters almost as much as its size.

Example: A Chinese Factory Investing MAD 100 Million

Imagine a Chinese automotive component manufacturer considering a Moroccan factory.

The project plans:

Investment: MAD 100 millionEmployment: 120 stable jobsActivity: Automotive componentsLocation: Moroccan industrial zone

The company passes the basic investment-and-employment threshold because it plans to invest more than MAD 50 million and create more than 50 stable jobs.

The next step is not simply to multiply MAD 100 million by 30%.

Instead, the project must be assessed against the different incentive criteria.

The analysis would consider:

• Which expenditures are considered eligible investment

• Employment creation

• Local integration

• Sustainability

• Type of industrial activity

• Factory location

• Potential sectoral eligibility

• Other applicable requirements

Only after that analysis can the potential incentive level be estimated.

This distinction is extremely important for Chinese investors.

“Up to 30%” does not mean “30% of the total project cost automatically paid by the government.”

What Is “Eligible Investment”?

Another common misunderstanding concerns the calculation base.

The incentive is calculated against the eligible or “primable” investment amount, rather than automatically against every dirham spent on the project.

The implementing rules define which investment components can enter the eligible calculation and specifically exclude certain elements—for example, the price of public land under the relevant definition.

Therefore:

Total project investment ≠ necessarily eligible investment amount.

This is one reason incentive modelling should be done early in the investment process.

Investment Charter Incentives and Free Zones Are Not the Same Thing

Chinese investors sometimes mix these two concepts.

They are separate.

An Industrial Acceleration Zone (ZAI), commonly referred to as a free zone, provides a specific operating, customs and tax framework for qualifying companies.

The Investment Charter, on the other hand, is an investment support framework.

A company should therefore evaluate several dimensions independently:

Where should we establish the factory?

Which industrial-zone regime applies?

What tax and customs treatment applies?

What Investment Charter incentives could the project qualify for?

These questions are connected, but they are not interchangeable.

Why Chinese Manufacturers Should Evaluate Incentives Before Choosing Land

Many investors naturally begin by searching for industrial land.

But from an investment-structuring perspective, this can be premature.

The factory location can affect logistics, labor availability, industrial-zone status and potentially territorial incentives.

The sector and investment structure can also affect eligibility for different forms of support.

A better sequence is:

Project definition → incentive assessment → location comparison → land selection → authorization and investment agreement → implementation.

This allows the investor to compare locations based on the project's total economics, rather than simply comparing the price per square meter.

From Application to Investment Agreement

Obtaining incentives is not simply a matter of registering a Moroccan company.

An industrial project needs to be properly structured and presented to the relevant Moroccan authorities.

Depending on the project, this can involve preparation of the investment dossier, technical and financial information, employment commitments, site selection, administrative approvals and negotiation/finalization of an investment agreement with the government.

The investor must therefore be able to clearly demonstrate:

• Who the investor is

• What will be manufactured

• How much will be invested

• How the investment will be financed

• Where the factory will be established

• How many stable jobs will be created

• The implementation schedule

• The project's industrial and economic contribution

For major industrial investments, this process should be treated as an important part of project development—not as an administrative formality after the factory decision has already been made.

Why the Charter Is Particularly Relevant to Chinese Manufacturers

The structure of the Investment Charter aligns closely with the type of Chinese investment Morocco is currently attracting.

Chinese manufacturers are increasingly bringing projects that combine:

Capital investment + industrial technology + employment + exports + local supply-chain development.

These are exactly the characteristics Morocco wants to encourage.

Battery materials, automotive components, electronics, advanced materials and other industrial projects can potentially contribute not only capital, but also technology transfer, supplier development and deeper integration into global manufacturing chains.

This explains why understanding Morocco's incentive framework is becoming increasingly important for Chinese companies evaluating overseas expansion.

The Bigger Strategic Opportunity

The Investment Charter should not be viewed simply as a subsidy program.

It reflects Morocco's broader industrial strategy.

The country is effectively using investment incentives to influence what industries are developed, where factories are located and how much economic value they create locally.

For Chinese manufacturers, this creates an opportunity.

Companies that align their projects with Morocco's industrial priorities may improve both the economics of their investment and their strategic position within the country's emerging manufacturing ecosystem.

But the key is to evaluate these opportunities before the investment structure and location are finalized.

Because when a factory involves tens or hundreds of millions of dirhams, the difference between a poorly structured project and a properly optimized investment can be substantial.

How SinoLink Consulting Supports Chinese Industrial Investors

At SinoLink Consulting, we support Chinese companies throughout the industrial investment process in Morocco.

Our work covers the full investment journey:

INVEST — Feasibility, investment cost analysis, tax and incentive assessment, location comparison.

ENTER — Company establishment, industrial land and factory search, government approvals, investment convention and subsidy application.

BUILD — Permits, construction coordination, contractors, utilities, equipment import and local procurement.

OPERATE — Accounting, tax, VAT, HR, payroll, recruitment, legal support and day-to-day local operations.

For Chinese companies considering a factory in Morocco, the objective should not simply be to obtain the highest theoretical subsidy.

It should be to determine the right location, the right investment structure and the right incentive package for the project as a whole.

The information in this article provides a general overview and should not be treated as confirmation of eligibility for a specific project. Incentives depend on the applicable regulations and the characteristics and approval of each investment project.