Casablanca joins London Stock Exchange ELITE program
The London Stock Exchange Group has signed an agreement with Casablanca Stock Exchange to support the launch of LSEG’s business development programme, ELITE, in Morocco.
A dedicated LSEG ELITE support team will share their knowledge of the programme with CSE representatives, guiding them on how best to implement the programme and promote the ELITE programme and brand locally. Moroccan companies will start their ELITE journey with a view to eventually joining the full pan-European ELITE community, where they will be able to share news, expertise and to create a network of contacts with over 270 existing ELITE participants, 180 advisors and 80 investors.
This partnership builds on the strategic agreement signed between LSEG and CSE last year, before His Majesty the King, Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, to help position Casablanca’s capital markets as a regional hub. Most recently, Maroclear, the Moroccan Central Securities Depository (CSD) selected LSEG’s UnaVista to provide trade repository technology. This follows Maroclear’s earlier partnership with LSEG for the allocation of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) and with LSEG’s CSD, Monte Titoli, to provide access to European securities settlement infrastructure.
Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group:
“Today’s agreement is testament to Casablanca Stock Exchange’s commitment to developing its capital market offering and the strength of the economic partnership between the UK and Morocco.
“ELITE is already a highly successful European programme and I’m delighted that we have the opportunity to expand the programme in Morocco. As well as helping accelerate the growth and opportunities of individual Moroccan businesses, ELITE has the power to help drive the country’s economic prosperity. High growth dynamic SMEs have a unique capacity to innovate and create new jobs, they are the lifeblood of any economy and it is essential that we create rich entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they can thrive.”
Karim Hajji, CEO of Casablanca Stock Exchange, said:
“We are delighted to sign this agreement, which reinforces our cooperation with our strategic partner, London Stock Exchange Group. We believe that the ELITE programme, already a success in Italy and the UK, will allow us to build an efficient ecosystem to support the financing of Moroccan SMEs. It will also allow us to support the financing of not only the Moroccan economy, but North and West Africa more broadly.”
The Casablanca Stock Exchange is one of the most developed markets in Africa with a market capitalization of 486 billion Dh (at the end of June), which represents 54 per cent of Morocco’s GDP. More than 31 per cent of the capitalization is owned by foreign investors. 75 listed companies achieve a turnover of 250 billion Dh, which is 27 per cent of the GDP, and generate nearly 23 billion Dh net income.
