Tunisian tycoon Moncef Mzabi loses $3.1 million in three months as ARTES stock slumps

Tunisian automobile tycoon Moncef Mzabi has seen the market value of his stake fall by more than N9.1 million ($3.16 million) in the past 91 days.

The multimillion-dollar loss is attributable to the performance of Automobile Reseau Tunisien and Services SA (ARTES) on the Tunis Exchange, as its shares slumped from record highs.

ARTES is a Tunisia-based automobile retailer established after the acquisition of Renault Tunisie in 1997 by Mzabi and his brothers Mzoughi and Sadok. The company competes with renowned automobile retailers such as Ennakl Automobiles and City Cars in Tunisia.

Aside from founding and having a governance role in the retailer, Mzabi and his brothers hold substantial stakes in ARTES, making them majority owners.

The recent decline in the market value of Mzabi’s stake can be linked to investor profit-taking and portfolio-rotation activities, which caused ARTES shares to slump by more than 13 percent.

As of press time, Dec. 3, shares in ARTES were trading at TND6.34 ($2.2), 1.44-percent higher than their opening price on Thurs., Dec. 2.

Since Sept. 3, its stock price has fallen from TND7.3 ($2.53) to TND6.34 ($2.2) as of the time of writing. This translates to a 13.2-percent loss for shareholders in 91 days.

As a result of the slump in the company’s share price, the market value of Mzabi’s position has fallen from TND79.25 million ($24 million) on Sept. 3 to TND60.14 million ($20.84 million), accruing total losses of TND9.11 million ($3.16 million) for the multimillionaire.

Despite the recent decline in the market value of his stake, Mzabi remains one of the richest investors on the Tunis Stock Exchange.