Moroccan exchange to launch derivatives within weeks, CEO says
Morocco's Casablanca Stock Exchange expects to launch a new derivatives market within weeks as part of an effort to boost liquidity in one of Africa's largest exchanges, its CEO told Reuters.
CSE CEO Tarik Senhaji said derivatives would expand the investor base by allowing participants to take long and short positions and enable them to trade a basket, particularly tracking the MASI 20, which includes the 20 largest and most liquid stocks.
'It's the flexibility that the derivatives market allows you, which is going to add to the main market, bring more liquidity, and essentially bring more flows,' Senhaji said.
The derivative offerings are aimed at being the first part of a broader expansion, with contracts for interest rate futures, single-stock futures and equity options set to follow.
In 2024, the exchange's average daily trading volume rose by nearly 70% to $37.5m (R683.7m), and total market capitalisation rose some 20% from December 2023 to the end of 2024, to $77.6bn (R1.4-trillion).
But the bourse saw only one new listing in 2024 and participation of the local population is also less than 1%, Senhaji said.
CSE is working to boost local familiarity with the exchange to attract more domestic investors. Foreigners account for roughly 30% of the CSE's investors, Senhaji said.
The CSE's next target is to create an 'organic link' between Morocco's two biggest pools of liquidity — the exchange and the government bond market.
'We want to move into derivatives for interest rates in a big way, because that will connect the government bond market ... with the stock market ... and create some really interesting cross asset plays,' he said.
The exchange is also looking to launch listed REITs.
Senhaji said that despite worldwide market turmoil, marked by rising US tariffs and heightened geopolitical tensions, the country was well positioned. He noted that the proposed new US tariff for Morocco was set at the lowest level of 10%.
'We have a good relationship with everyone, whether it's on the social front or the economic front, and we view ourselves as well as one of the links into international commerce and international trading,' Senhaji said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
2 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Anglo's De Beers attracts interest from India's Agarwal, Qatari funds: sources
Diamond giant De Beers has drawn interest from at least six consortia, including commodities billionaire Anil Agarwal, Indian diamond firms and Qatari investment funds, sources close to the companies told Reuters. As Anglo American pivots towards its core assets in copper and iron ore, it is divesting De Beers, though the move is complicated by a slump in global diamond prices. Agarwal, chair of Vedanta Resources, which has mines in Zambia and South Africa, is among the interested parties as part of a bigger group, two of the sources said, without specifying other members of the consortium or their strategy. In 2017 Agarwal became Anglo American's largest shareholder with a stake nearing 20%, which he exited two years later, saying he had met his investment goals after the stock price doubled. Anglo and Agarwal both declined to comment. Indian companies including KGK Group and Kapu Gems, which dominate the domestic cutting and polishing trade and are De Beers' biggest customers, have also expressed interest separately, as part of bigger groups, two separate sources with knowledge of the matter said.
TimesLIVE
3 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Petrobras aims to make Africa its main exploratory region outside Brazil: CEO
Africa By Petrobras aims to make Africa its main region of development outside Brazil, the state-run oil giant's CEO told Reuters on Thursday during a wide-ranging interview about the company's strategy. Ivory Coast has extended the "red carpet" for Petrobras to explore deep and ultra-deep waters off its coast, when it gave the company preference in buying nine offshore exploratory blocks on Wednesday, said Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard. She added that Nigeria, Angola and Namibia have also expressed interest in working with the Brazilian giant. "We are experts in the eastern margin of Brazil," said Chambriard, citing geological similarities between the region and Africa. "The correlation between Brazil and Africa is unequivocal, so we need to go to Africa." In recent years, Petrobras has shown an interest in buying stakes in oil assets abroad, especially in Africa, as it looks to boost reserves while it faces delays in obtaining environmental permits to drill for new oil off the coast of the Amazon rainforest. Petrobras is also seeking to explore India's coast, taking part in an upcoming oil block auction scheduled for July, Chambriard said. Petrobras's plans mark a return to the African continent after the company divested assets in the region under previous governments, as part of a broad plan that made the company focus on high-productivity areas in Brazil's pre-salt fields. The plans to explore new oil fields are part of Chambriard's strategy to handle the critical task of balancing President Luiz Inacio Lula's ambitions to use Petrobras to boost the economy with delivering profits to its investors, all while contending with the global challenge of lower oil prices. Petrobras, a cornerstone of Brazil's economy, is also at the center of high-stakes tension within Lula's administration, which aims to leverage oil revenues for economic growth while showcasing Brazil, the host of the upcoming COP30 climate summit, as a champion in the global fight against climate change. The company's plans to drill for oil off the coast of the Amazon rainforest, in the Foz do Amazonas region, have faced delays in obtaining environmental permits. But Chambriard told Reuters she believes the company will clear the last step to getting a permit to drill in the region in the second half of July. Meanwhile, the company's plans in Africa have already started being implemented. In 2023 it bought a stake in an offshore oil field in South Africa and in early 2024 it purchased an interest in fields in the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, where it hopes to drill a well this year, Chambriard said. Despite the recent efforts, Chambriard said the firm was outbid by France's TotalEnergies for a share in Galp Energia's offshore discovery in the Mopane field in Namibia. "We hope to be invited" to develop Mopane, Chambriard added, without giving further details. Lower Brent oil crude prices have pushed the company to cut costs and simplify projects in Petrobras's upcoming strategic plan for the 2026-2030 period, Chambriard said. During the firm's first-quarter earnings call with analysts last month, Chambriard had already signalled a move towards austerity, pleasing investors. But Chambriard did not clarify whether cost-cutting efforts would impact the company's investment plans. If confirmed, a retreat from investment plans could mark a stark reversal for the Brazilian oil giant since Lula took office in 2023 and pushed the company to invest more to boost Brazil's economy. The firm is set to finally widen its role in Brazil's fertiliser production, as it expects to resume operation on two plants in the states of Sergipe and Bahia by the end of the year, Chambriard said. The CEO also confirmed a Reuters report that the firm is unhappy with the current level of control it has over petrochemical firm Braskem, and is looking for changes to a shareholders agreement that could give the oil company more power in Braskem's decision-making process. Petrobras has a 47% voting stake in Braskem but has appointed four of its 11 board members and one director out of seven, representation it considers insufficient, Reuters reported last week. Petrobras has no interest in having majority control over the firm, but it wants more power over it to "guarantee synergies", Chambriard said, without providing further details. Braskem is a "very important asset", Chambriard said. But, she added, "from our current point of view, Braskem's management is not what we want".
TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Tesla shares rise as investors cheer Musk-Trump peace call
Tesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with US President Donald Trump. Trump threatened to cut off government contracts to Musk's companies, while Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, turning their relationship into an all-out brawl on social media. The electric carmaker's shares were up about 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150bn (R2.66-trillion) in market value. 'It's unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are threats unlikely to come into fruition,' said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index. 'I don't expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a few days.' Analysts said some of Thursday's sell-off was down to factors beyond Musk's personal relationship with the president. 'We think the stock's sell-off reflects a number of other factors: an unjustified run-up after its Q1 earnings release, ongoing market share losses in China and Europe and a realisation that next week's Robotaxi launch in Austin could disappoint,' Garrett Nelson, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, said in a note. 'We remain at hold, expecting more volatility in the near term. Buckle up,' he said. Tesla shares, which hit record highs when Trump won the election in November, have since been punished harshly as Musk's cost-cutting role in the US administration hurt Tesla's image with shareholders and consumers. The stock is still considered part of Wall Street's elite 'Magnificent 7" club of the seven biggest companies by market cap, though it has now dropped to ninth position in value, behind Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Broadcom. It has also dropped out of the $1-trillion (R17.75-trillion) club of companies with market value above this level. The broader stock market was hit on Thursday as the feud between Musk and Trump intensified. By Friday, with signs of a possible truce on the horizon, stock futures turned higher as well, with those on the S&P 500 up 0.4%. 'Elon Musk has already signalled he is open to a cooling-off period with Trump and stock market futures are higher on Friday morning. Thus, the risk could be more localised with Tesla shares in the short-term,' Kathleen Brooks, XTB research director, said.
