Moroccan pharma tycoon Lamia Tazi suffers $3-million loss from Sothema stake

Yusuf Abdulfatai -

Moroccan pharma tycoon Lamia Tazi has recorded a significant decrease in the market value of her stake in Marocaine Ste de Therapeutique (Sothema) over the past 23 days, as shares in the Casablanca-based pharmaceutical company dipped significantly.

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 MAD30.86 million ($3.06 million) in the past 23 days as investors continue to trim down stakes in the pharma firm as part of a strategic move to reduce stakes in risky assets.

Sothema shares slump 4.85 percent, inflicting shareholders with losses

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.

Since Jan. 24, Tazi’s shares in the Moroccan pharmaceutical company have lost 4.85 percent of their value, falling from MAD1,051 ($104.304) on Jan. 24 to a price of MAD1,000 ($99.243) at the time of writing.

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 corresponds to 605,030 issued shares.

Tazi’s Sothema stake slumps below $65 million as share price takes a hit

As a result of the impact of a single-digit percent slump in the group’s share price, the market value of  Tazi’s stake slumped by MAD30.9 million ($3.06 million) over the past three weeks falling from MAD635.9 million ($63.1 million) on Jan. 22 to MAD605 million ($60.04 million) as of the time of this report.

The recent financial setback experienced by Tazi mirrors the broader challenges facing Sothema – highlighting the volatile nature of the stock market and its far-reaching implications – even for prominent business people.