THE Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) has announced a sweeping programme of reforms aimed at transforming Morocco’s capital markets into a globally competitive platform, following a record-breaking year in trading activity and market capitalisation.
In a positioning paper released Thursday, titled After a Record Year, Emerging Markets Momentum Is Building, the CSE laid out plans to roll out its first equity index futures, backed by new infrastructure aligned with international best practices — a rare move among African stock exchanges.
Derivatives debut marks market leap
The launch of equity index futures, based on Morocco’s benchmark MASI 20 Index, marks a pivotal structural shift for the CSE. The initiative aims to provide both global and domestic investors with sophisticated tools to manage market exposure through a single, standardised product.
The new futures market is underpinned by a fully operational central counterparty (CCP), which enhances clearing efficiency and reduces counterparty risk — key requirements for any aspiring emerging market. A new holding company structure has also been introduced to streamline operations and coordinate future product expansion.
2024 breaks records across the board
The CSE reported that trading volume surged from MAD33.4bn ($3.31bn) in 2023 to MAD 60.9bn ($6.03 billion) in 2024. Daily average trading rose from $22.2 million to $56.3 million in Q1 2025. Meanwhile, total market capitalisation jumped from $64.6bn to $95.5bn by March 2025 — a performance now rivalling some established emerging market exchanges.
The MASI index climbed 19.6 percent in dollar terms in 2024 and maintained momentum into the first quarter of this year.
Retail boom and IPO success
Individual investor participation has doubled year-on-year, accounting for roughly 20 percent of total trades in 2024, up from 10 percent in 2023. The spike is credited to improved digital platforms and high-profile IPOs such as CMGP Group, which was oversubscribed 37 times.
Regulators anchor reform push
The Casablanca Stock Exchange is working in close coordination with the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), whose role in anchoring investor confidence and regulatory standards has been critical to the rollout.
CSE officials say the programme aligns with Morocco’s broader goal of achieving full emerging market status. That includes commitments to regulatory transparency, gradual foreign exchange liberalisation, and an expanded toolkit of tradable instruments designed to meet global investment and risk-management needs.
A new capital markets era
‘This isn’t just a product launch — it’s a new phase in our capital market evolution,’ the exchange said during Morocco Capital Markets Days 2025, a high-level summit of investors, regulators, and issuers. ‘We’re building the depth and structure global investors are looking for.’
The bourse’s roadmap envisions the phased introduction of additional instruments such as interest rate futures, single-stock futures, and equity options — all supported by an integrated governance and clearing system.
