On Monday, March 19, 2018, Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID, Minister of Economy and Finance, presided the first meeting of the Capital Markets Committee (CMC) at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
This meeting was attended by the following, in their capacity as members of the Committee: General Director of Bank Al-Maghrib, President of AMMC, President of ACAPS, Director of the Treasury and External Finances, Presidents General Directors of Attijariwafa Bank and BCP, General Director of CDG, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Stock Exchange, General Director of Casablanca Stock Exchange, General Director of Exchange Office, President of the Moroccan Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies and the Presidents of professional associations of the capital market (APSB, ASFIM and AMIC).
The General Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and representatives of BMCE BANK, Casablanca Finance City Authority, Maroclear and AMMC, as well as representatives and executive staff of the Management of the Treasury and External Finances, also attended the meeting.
As it is the first meeting of CMC, Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID delivered an opening speech in which he recalled that the establishment CMC by the new act on the stock exchange comes after a request by the financial community. The latter considered that the Moroccan financial area should possess a concentration and exchange body where public authorities and players can treat together the issues and subjects that will shape the strategic orientations of the area. He pointed out that even if the CMC has been established by the Stock Exchange act, its prerogatives concern all issues related to capital market.
The Minister also recalled that the development strategy of the financial sector relies on three fields of equal importance, namely (i) financial stability, (ii) market and institutions and (iii) financial inclusion.
If the field of financial stability is covered by the Systemic Risk Coordination and Monitoring Committee chaired by the Governor of Bank Al Maghrib and the financial inclusion is covered by a dedicated governance structure in progress, CMC will focus on issues related to the development of the market and its institutions.
The Minister finally emphasized that the work of this committee is not intended to replace that of the authorities and market institutions in their respective prerogatives but rather to identify together the appropriate stimulants so that the capital market can strengthen its role in financing the economy and thus meet the expectations of businesses and households in terms of appropriate financing solutions.
Regarding the agenda, this first meeting is dedicated to (i) the presentation of the Stock Exchange roadmap and (ii) the creation of thematic working groups within the committee in accordance with the legislation that governs it.
Concerning the first point, Mr. Hamid TAWFIKI and Mr. Karim HAJJI, respectively, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Casablanca Stock Exchange, showed the main aspects of this roadmap, which has been developed following the demutualization of the stock exchange, that aims to modernizing the market infrastructure with the ambition of making it a robust, integrated and efficient platform.
It was also pointed out that the new strategic vision of Casablanca Stock Exchange focuses on three strategic objectives:
The construction of an integrated, solid and sustainable market infrastructure, capable of handling the different financial instruments, cash or forward, and carry out transaction in the best conditions of costs and security;
A better contribution to the financing of the national economy, by boosting the supply of paper, enriching services and expertise aimed at better mobilizing local investors and attracting international investors and developing market liquidity;
- Regional influence of Casablanca Stock Exchange, with the improvement of linkage with the international financial markets and African financial areas (African Exchange Linkage Project), development of partnership with African stock exchanges (BRVM, Tunisia…) and the deployment of its services and expertise with its African partners.
CMC members intervened to welcome the creation of this strategic committee which meets a strong expectation of market players and express their willingness to actively participate in the working groups work. They also stressed that the development of our market will reinforce our ambition to raise Casablanca Finance City as a regional financial hub.
With regard to the roadmap, the members pointed out its importance and relevance, especially as it handles the whole issues relating to stimulants for developing the market in its different components and the fact that it addresses all market players.
The discussions then tackled many current issues that are strategic for the development of the area. These included the necessity of coordinating the strategies of players, meeting the expectations of the Moroccan business and, in particular, very small and medium-sized businesses and Startups in terms of financing solutions that suit their special needs, and the competitiveness of the area in terms of access facility and costs, depth and liquidity of the market.
The debates on this subject ended by the creation, in this stage, of three working groups:
“Market Development Strategy”, chaired by the Management of the Treasury and External Finances, who will have to prepare a platform for converging the strategies of the different market players;
“Private Debt”, chaired by the AMMC, which will deal with the situation of this market and the means and measures to be taken to launch it;
- “Financing of Very Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Startups”, chaired by Bank Al Maghrib, which will focus on financing solutions for these business categories.
At the end of this first meeting of CMC, Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID paid tribute to the spirit of adhesion and involvement of all participants. He also stressed that the work of this committee will give a new impetus to development of the capital market through consultation and coordination of the entire market.