CFG Bank's IPO, oversubscribed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange

The initial public offering (IPO) of CFG Bank, one of Morocco's smallest banks, was unsurprisingly a big hit with investors, african-markets.com reports.

According to several members of the underwriting syndicate, data collected on December 7, a few hours after subscriptions closed, indicated that the deal was oversubscribed 25 to 30 times by about 20,000 investors. The subscription period had started on November 30.

These figures make CFG Bank's IPO more popular than the privatization of Marsa Maroc, Morocco's main port operator. CFG Bank thus becomes one of the most successful listings in the recent history of the Casablanca Stock Exchange.

For comparison, TGCC's IPO, considered the most popular in six years, attracted 11,800 investors and was oversubscribed 22 times. The construction company had planned to raise 600 million dirhams (150 million euros), the same as CFG Bank.

More recently, private healthcare group Akdital's Dh1.2 billion IPO attracted 8,225 investors and was 3.8 times oversubscribed.

The growth of the Casablanca Stock Exchange has been affected by the fact that fewer IPOs have been launched in recent years. The most recent IPO on the Casablanca Stock Exchange had taken place in December 2022, according to Reuters.

Morocco's new development model aims to increase market capitalization from 50% to 70% by 2035. The market also aims to increase the number of listed companies to 300 and attract more foreign investors to represent 25% of total transactions , notes northafricapost.com.

• CFG, universal bank since 2012

In the Casablanca Stock Exchange offer, CFG decided to issue new shares with a nominal value of 100 dirhams each, at a subscription price (including the issue premium) of between 500 and 600 dirhams/share, according to northafricapost. com.

In November, CFG obtained the approval of the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) for the launch of the initial public offering on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. CFG Finance was among the financial advisors that facilitated CFG Bank's IPO.

Founded in 1992 by businessmen Adil Douiri and Amyn Alami, CFG Bank operated in the investment banking and private banking segments until 2012, when it was transformed into a universal bank.