Casablanca Stock Exchange: 12 Listed Companies Held Over 50% by Foreign Investors

At the end of 2024, the total value of shares held by foreign investors reached 182 billion dirhams, marking a 7.8% increase compared to 2023. This growth is primarily attributed to the appreciation of listed stock prices in foreign investors' portfolios, aligned with the upward trend of the MASI index, which recorded an annual performance of +22.16% in 2024. Consequently, the share of foreign investments in the overall market capitalization rose to 24.1% in 2024. The evolution of foreign investments from 2020 to 2024 is closely linked to market performance. The year 2022 represented a low point for valuations, with a significant correction resulting in a 25.36% decline in foreign holdings, coinciding with a 19.75% drop in the MASI index during that year. However, the underlying trend became distinctly positive in 2023 and 2024. This recovery, driven by an annual growth rate of nearly 8% in foreign holdings, reflects the strong performance of the Casablanca Stock Exchange, which saw increases in the MASI of 12.80% and 22.16% in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Out of the 77 companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, 30 are held by foreign investors at more than 10%. Among these, 12 companies attract over 113 billion dirhams in foreign investment, accounting for 63% of total foreign investment and 15.1% of the overall market capitalization. The distribution of capital held by foreign investors is as follows: - Six companies are over 75% foreign-owned, with a total investment of 51.8 billion dirhams, representing 6.9% of market capitalization. - Six companies have foreign ownership between 50% and 75%, with a total investment of 61.6 billion dirhams, or 8.2% of market capitalization. - Twelve companies have foreign ownership between 25% and 50%, attracting 45.9 billion dirhams, which is 6.1% of the overall market capitalization. - Six companies have foreign investments between 10% and 25%, totaling 5.9 billion dirhams, or 0.8% of market capitalization. - Forty-seven companies have foreign investments of less than 10%, accumulating 16.4 billion dirhams and representing 2.2% of market capitalization. Strategic holdings dominate foreign investment in listed securities, accounting for 90.6% of foreign investment in 2024, slightly down from 92.2% in 2023. In terms of market capitalization, strategic holdings represented 21.9% in 2024, compared to 24.8% in 2023. The minority share of foreign investment on the Casablanca Stock Exchange saw a slight increase, reaching 2.3% of overall market capitalization in 2024, up from 2.1% the previous year. When related to free float capitalization, minority foreign investment represented 8.2% in 2024, compared to 8% in 2023. By the end of 2024, five sectors exhibited foreign ownership rates exceeding 40%. The "Electricity" sector was nearly 86% foreign-owned, followed by "Telecommunications" (55.6%), "Beverages" (55.2%), "Oil and Gas" (47.3%), and the "Agricultural Industry" sector, with foreign ownership at 41.3%. Notable developments in strategic holdings include the newly established "Agricultural Industry" sector, which has a foreign participation rate of 38.7%, a direct result of the IPO of CMGP Group. Conversely, the "Transport" sector no longer has any strategic foreign participation following the delisting of Timar3 from the Casablanca Stock Exchange. In terms of minority holdings (< 4% of capital), the "Materials, Software, and IT Services" sector recorded the highest foreign ownership rate at 10.8%, followed by the "Distributors," "Beverages," and "Health" sectors with respective ownership rates of 9.2%, 4.5%, and 4%.