Royal family of Morocco gains $670 million from stake in Attijariwafa Bank

The market value of Morocco’s billionaire Alaouite royal family’s interest in Attijariwafa Bank has increased by more than $670 million since the start of the year as value investors mop up stakes in the country’s leading financial services firm.

Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of the Alaouite royal family’s stake in Attijariwafa Bank has increased by MAD 6.82 billion ($673.91 million) since the start of the year amid renewed buying interest has boosted the bank’s share price above key technical levels on the Casablanca Bourse.

Attijariwafa Bank, which ranks as one of Africa’s largest banks, is a Moroccan multinational commercial bank and financial services company based in Rabat.

With over a century of experience and 20,125 employees in 25 countries, it supports 10 million retail, professional, corporate, and institutional clients.

Members of Morocco’s Alaouite royal family own a 46.5-percent stake in the financial services group through Societe Nationale d’Investissement (Al Mada), a private equity firm that makes active investments in structurally significant sectors of Africa’s economy and society.

Since the start of the year, shares in the group on the Casablanca Stock Exchange have increased by 18.17 percent, climbing from MAD385 ($38.099) on Jan. 1 to MAD454.95 ($45.021) at the time of writing, thus leading to gains amounting to millions of dollars for its shareholders, including the affluent royal family.

As a result of the double-digit percent increase in the group’s share price, the market value of the stake held by the affluent royal family has increased by MAD6.82 billion ($673.91 million) since the start of the year, climbing from MAD37.51 billion ($3.71 billion) on Jan. 1 to MAD44.33 billion ($4.38 billion) at the time of writing.