Moroccan financial services magnate Said Alj gains $1.85 million in two months as Saham Assurance shares surge

Omokolade Ajayi -

Moroccan financial services magnate Said Alj has seen the market value of his stake in Saham Assurance increase by MAD16.76 million ($1.85 million) since early September, as shares in the company surged by 14.6 percent.

Saham Assurance is a Moroccan insurance group and an operating subsidiary of Sanlam Group. The company has been listed on the main market of the Casablanca Stock Exchange since 2010.

Said Alj, the president of the Morocco-based insurer, holds a beneficial stake in the company that amounts in total to 2.22 percent.

The recent surge in the market value of his stake was underpinned by a bullish run in the insurance company’s shares, as investors reacted to the resilient financial performance that it reported at the end of its first-half-year period, which ended on June 30.

Compared to last year’s figures, its mid-year profit grew by 469.4 percent from a MAD104-million ($11.48 million) loss in the first half of 2020 to MAD384.1 million ($42.4 million) in the first half of 2021.

In reaction to the triple-digit growth in profit, investors intensified buying interest in the company’s shares, causing the share price to increase from MAD1,265 ($139.51) to MAD1,450 ($159.91) between Sept. 1 and Oct. 29.

The surge in the company’s shares accrued a total gain of 14.6 percent for shareholders in 58 days, nearly two months.

As a result, the market capitalization of Saham Assurance on the local bourse increased from MAD5.21 billion ($574.33 million) on Sept. 1 to MAD5.97 billion ($658.33 million) as of press time, while the market value of Alj’s stake in the insurance group increased from MAD114.57 million ($12.64 million) to MAD131.33 million ($14.48 million).

This translates to a gain of MAD16.76 million ($1.85 million) for the Moroccan financial services magnate in 58 days.

In addition to his role in Saham Assurance, Alj is the chairman and founder of the Sanlam Group, a Moroccan holding company created in 1986. The group operates in various fields, including the agro-food industry, tourism, cinema, commercial real estate and finance.