The Casablanca stock exchange is getting ready to go to the next level. The government Council has just passed a bill of law aimed at bringing new blood to the financial market which capitalisation is currently at 475 billion dirhams (43.5 billion Euros), just a little under half of the Moroccan GDP.

This "bill of law on the Stock exchange, brokerage firms and financial investment advisors" offers in particular the option to list foreign companies, even the ones which headquarters are not in Morocco, on one of the market's segment. Objective: Give weight to the Moroccan financial marketplace against the three main African marketplaces: Johannesburg, Cairo and the Nigerian Stock Exchange of Lagos.

Another new aspect brought by the bill: The creation of an alternative market, which should enable small and medium enterprises (SME) to gain access to the market on conditions adapted to their size.

The bill also make provision for the creation of sections reserved for Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and real estate investment funds as well as the expansion of the field of activity of brokerage firms to activities linked to intermediation.

The Casablanca marketplace currently has 76 companies listed, with less than 10 joining the stock exchange in the last five years. Too low for a marketplace showing regional ambitions.