Lamia Tazi suffers $10.3-million loss from Sothema stake

Lamia Tazi, the prominent Moroccan pharmaceutical tycoon and CEO of Marocaine Ste de Therapeutique (Sothema), has witnessed a significant decline in the market value of her stake in the healthcare group, driven by the dip in the company’s shares on the Casablanca bourse.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, the Moroccan executive, who ranks as one of the region’s wealthiest businesswomen, has seen the market value of her stake in Sothema decline by MAD106.49 million ($10.31 million) in the past 11 days as investors trimmed down stakes in the pharma firm as part of a strategic move to reduce stakes in risky assets.

Sothema is Morocco’s leading healthcare company, producing about 60 million units of drugs per year and operating a diverse portfolio of 35 multinational laboratories that produce and export goods to Europe, the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

Tazi, the CEO and chairperson of Sothema and one of the most affluent investors on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, holds a substantial 8.4-percent stake in the leading healthcare company, which translates to 605,030 issued shares.

Since Oct. 9, Sothema’s share price has slumped by 14.92 percent, declining from MAD1,180 ($114.260) on Oct. 9 to MAD1,004 ($97.221) at the time of writing. The decline has resulted in significant losses for the company’s shareholders, including Tazi, who holds a significant portion of the group.

In light of the double-digit percent slump in Sothema’s shares over the past 11 days, the market value of Tazi’s stake has slumped by MAD106.5 million ($10.31 million) over the past 11 days falling from MAD713.94 million ($69.14 million) on October 9 to MAD607.45 million ($58.83 million) as of the time of this report.

The financial setbacks experienced by Tazi mirror the broader challenges facing Sothema, highlighting the volatile nature of the stock market and its far-reaching implications, even for prominent businesspeople.