Morocco’s second-richest man Othman Benjelloun gains $46 million from BOA stake

Feyisayo Ajayi -

Morocco’s second-richest man Othman Benjelloun has gained more than $46 million from his stake in Bank of Africa since the start of the year as value investors continue to mop up stakes in the company, further boosting its share price above key technical levels.

Data tracked by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of Benjelloun’s stake in Bank of Africa, previously known as Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur (BMCE), has increased by MAD 457.72 million ($46.08 million) since the start of the year as investors in the local bourse continue to increase their stakes in the multinational pan-African banking conglomerate.

Founded in 1959, Bank of Africa is a multinational pan-African banking conglomerate with operations in over 18 African countries, including a representative office in Paris, offering banking services to retail, professional, private, SMEs, and large enterprises in Morocco and internationally.

Benjelloun owns a significant 27.41-percent stake in the Bank of Africa, which translates to 57,214,615 ordinary shares in the leading financial services conglomerate.

Since the start of the year, Bank of Africa’s shares on the Casablanca stock exchange has increased by 4.65 percent, from MAD172 ($17.297) on Jan. 1 to MAD180 ($18.101) as of report writing, thus leading to gains amounting to millions of dollars for its shareholders, including the Moroccan second-richest man.

The market value of the stake held by Benjelloun has increased by MAD 457.72 million ($46.08 million) in 2023, climbing from MAD 9.84 billion ($990.65 million) on January 1 to MAD 10.30 billion ($1.04 billion) at the time of writing.

This significant increase has further cemented the position of Benjelloun as not only the second-richest man in Morocco after Moroccan Prime Minister and mogul Aziz Akhannouch, but also reaffirms his position as one of the wealthiest investors on the local bourse.

With a net worth of $1.3 billion, as reported by Forbes, Benjelloun is ranked as the 16th wealthiest individual in Africa and the 2,154th on an international scale.