Capital Markets
From The Report: Morocco 2013
View in Online Reader
Capital markets in Morocco have seen a number of difficulties in the past years, with the slowdown in the eurozone crisis and continued regional unrest putting pressure on the market. The bourse has posted losses for two years in a row, prompting calls for the accelerated institution of legislative reforms to aid regulators in stabilising operations. The Casablanca Stock Exchange is currently dominated by institutional investors, along with high-net-worth individuals and foreign investors. The authorities are working to get more companies to list by offering incentives, particularly to SMEs, and renewing activity on the bourse is a key goal for market regulators.
This chapter includes an interview with Karim Hajji, CEO, Casablanca Stock Exchange; and a viewpoint from Younes Benjelloun, Partner and CEO, CFG Group.
Articles from this Chapter
Encouraging activity: After a tough 2012, the authorities are looking to reforms to energise the market
A regional role: Flagship project aims to attract a growing share of investment in AfricaOBGplus
Working to position its commercial capital, Casablanca, as financial centre for investors eyeing the African continent, Morocco has been drawing support from the City in London, Singapore and Luxembourg. Casablanca is now using its strategic location, near Europe and at the tip of Africa, to try to become a regional financial centre at a time when investors are looking to Africa for new opportunities. As Morocco’s ambition continues to take shape, 11 multinationals had secured Casablanca…
OBG talks to Karim Hajji, CEO, Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE)OBGplus
Interview: Karim Hajji What are the challenges in developing the CSE into a veritable regional exchange? KARIM HAJJI: One challenge is that regulations are not harmonised across the region. Regulators need to come together to ensure harmonisation of listing rules – both in North Africa and in French-speaking West Africa. To this end, we already have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tunis stock exchange. Another MoU is to be signed in March/April 2013 with the Regional Stock Exchange…
Younes Benjelloun, Partner and CEO, CFG Group, on the bond marketOBGplus
Morocco enjoys the most developed bond market in North Africa and one of the most advanced in the entire continent. This relatively high level of development was first begun with a set of reforms that have been gradually implemented by the Moroccan government, thus allowing for the emergence of a strong Treasury bonds market. Following this, the evolution of certain macroeconomic and banking factors over the last few years has led to the increasing disintermediation of the financing of the economy…
Risma: HospitalityOBGplus
THE COMPANY: Founded in 1993 and floated on the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) since 2006, Risma is the first investment vehicle dedicated to hotel development in the kingdom. With 33 hotels and nearly 4800 rooms, Risma manages the largest hotel chain in Morocco and deploys a unique portfolio of hotels under the Accor brand in 13 cities across the country. Today, Risma has a broad offering enabling it to target the upper segment through the Sofitel Luxury brand; the mid-range segment through the Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, MG allery and Pullman brands; and the entry-level segment through the Ibis and Ibis Budget brands. As of October…
Lesieur Cristal: AgribusinessOBGplus
French group has completed a milestone in its internationalisation process, which is focused on the Maghreb, West Africa and Eastern Europe. SNI has also divested 12.9% of Lesieur Cristal capital equity to several Moroccan institutional shareholders. Following these operations, SNI’s stake in Lesieur Cristal became 22.3%. The transfer of SNI stake in Lesieur is part of the investment company’s aim to divest its shareholding in its mature agribusiness subsidiaries with stable growth prospects, as announced during the delisting and subsequent merger of Omnium Nord-Africain and SNI. In 2011 the group’s margins and profitability suffered…
Groupe Banque Populaire: BankingOBGplus
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY: At the local level, the group is contemplating pursuing a strategy of reinforcement. The bank’s development plan provides for a sustained increase in branch openings, with an average of 100 new locations each year. Additionally, the bank would strengthen the market position of specialised financial subsidiaries, mainly Vivalis and Maroc Leasing – the Moroccan market leader of leasing products – with a target market share of 26.4% by 2014. On the international front, BCP will continue to reinforce the market position of Chaabi Bank in Europe, dedicated to Moroccans living abroad, as well as continue to reinforce…
Wafa Assurance: InsuranceOBGplus
THE COMPANY: The leading insurance company in Morocco, Wafa Assurance had a 22.1% market share and a client base of 1.5m at the end of 2011. The insurer enjoys a large retail network composed of 191 direct agents and 171 independent brokers. It provides a wide offering of products ranging from life insurance to automobile, savings and business insurance. Wafa Assurance is a subsidiary of the leading private banking group, Attijariwafa Bank. It is also renowned for being the 13th-largest insurance company on the African continent and the third-largest outside of South Africa. Wafa Assurance is the first company in Africa to join the International…
Disway: SoftwareOBGplus
THE COMPANY: Disway is the result of the merger of Distrisoft with Matel PC Market in April 2010. The company is the market leader in the distribution of software solutions and computer equipment in Morocco. The firm has genuine activity in North Africa, and may be looking to expand its operations to some francophone African countries in the coming years. Disway is looking beyond the turmoil in the region. It expects to more than double its revenues before 2020. The successful merger of the two companies allowed the new management to achieve the scale needed to counter the arrival of new incomers, inhibit the development of the “black market”…
Groupe Alliances: Real estateOBGplus
THE COMPANY: The group’s recent positioning in the low- and middle-end segment has been successful. The strategic choice to promote affordable and mid-range housing, as the demand for golf properties fell sharply, has produced its first results: in 2011, the low- and middle-end segment contributed 65% to consolidated revenues that were up 66% to Dh4.34bn (€515m). Its contribution should remain at similar levels in 2012. Groupe Alliances was founded in 1994 and floated on the Casablanca Stock Exchange in 2008 by its majority shareholder, Mohammed Alami Nafakh Lazraq. The objective was mainly to diversify its business portfolio and develop…
