Morocco launches roadshow for Maroc-Telecom listing

Moroccan Finance and privatization Minister, Fathallah Oualalou, has launched a roadshow part of preparations to list Maroc-telecom on the stock market, to raise up to 8,94 billion Dhs (nearly US $1.04 billion).

The roadshow, that started on November 15 in London, continued Monday in New York and Tuesday in Paris, the ministry said in a release, pointing out that the last step of the roadshow will take place on November 29-30 in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The tour aims at informing international investors on Morocco's economic assets, ongoing reforms and prospects of macro-economic evolution, said the release.

In parallel, Maroc Telecom launched Monday a roadshow in Casablanca, before moving to the main financial centers in Europe, the United States and the Middle East.

The company will issue a total of 131 million shares in the stock market. The price of each share will be set between 54.60 - 68.25 dirhams (around US$6-$8).

Individual investors have until Dec. 3 to buy shares, while the offer to institutional investors lasts until Dec. 7.

The company posted in 2003 sales close to 16 billion dirhams ( US$1.89 billion) and has 1.3 fixed-line subscribers, and over 5.5 million mobile telephone customers, that is 70.3pc share of the market.

It was announced last week that French media and telecommunications giant Vivendi Universal SA is to acquire another 16 percent of the company from the Moroccan state for 12.4 billion dirhams (US$1.46 billion), raising its stake to 51 percent. The transaction turns the status of Maroc-Telecom from a public into a private enterprise.