92% OF LISTED COMPANIES HAVE SIGNED UP TO THE NEW QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OBLIGATIONS. A SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL HAS BEEN SET UP TO STRENGTHEN THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AUTHORITY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOROCCAN FINANCIAL MARKET. A MULTI-FUNCTION ENABLEMENT DEVICE IS BEING DEVELOPED.

The Moroccan Capital Markets Authority (AMMC) has embarked on a strategic plan covering the period 2017-2020. A progress report proved necessary in order to assess the main achievements. Already, Nezha Hayat, president of the AMMC, declares: “We have been able to reach a completion rate of 70%. But you should know that the rest does not depend on authority alone. Other authorities and parties come into play, particularly on the part of the circuit of adoption of laws”.

The achievements of this strategic plan, which revolves around four axes, are not the least. For the first, which concerns the strengthening of confidence in the capital market, the AMMC has taken care to build a transparent market, through the publication of the circular on the public call for savings. Among other measures taken, this text introduced the obligation of listed companies to publish their main activity indicators on a quarterly basis, to accompany the publication of their half-yearly and annual statements with explanatory comments and to draw up more substantial reports. “In the second quarter of the current year, 92% of listed companies complied with the circular in question by publishing their activity indicators,” explains Ms. Hayat. At the same time, the circular provided for simplified rules for SMEs and strengthened governance rules for issuers. The AMMC has also strengthened its sanctions system through the operationalization of the sanctions college, set up in May 2017, as well as the adoption of an ad hoc organization allowing close monitoring of cases.

In addition to this, the AMMC has worked on the development of regulation in the service of market dynamics, which constitutes the 2nd axis on which the strategy is based. The deployment of this axis was based on 3 major components, namely the establishment of new financial instruments, through participation in the drafting of laws and regulatory texts, particularly concerning Sukuk certificates and OPCIs; the development of financing alternatives by contributing to the drafting of general stock market regulations which provide for an alternative market dedicated and adapted to SMEs; and strengthening the authority's contribution to the development of the Moroccan financial market through the establishment of its scientific council.

Furthermore, the authority has paid particular attention to cooperation with both national and international bodies. Its actions are based on the strong involvement of its teams in the committees of the IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) and by joining international capacity building networks such as the Sustainable Banking Network (IFC) and the Sustainable Stock Exchange (UN). Similarly, several bilateral agreements have been signed with Nigeria, Ghana and the CREPMF (Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets – a body of the West African Monetary Union) as well as with Qatar, Oman and Spain within the framework of the strengthening of regional and international cooperation of the AMMC. At the national level, the authority has set up working groups around subjects of common interest, with a view to strengthening coordination between national regulators and financial sector professionals.

Finally, capacity building for savers and operators (4th axis) took place through 3 levers, including the deployment of an authorization system for individuals operating in the field of the capital market. The objective is to ensure the technical, regulatory and ethical capacities of the human resources in charge of managing investors' savings and capital. This system concerns the functions of internal controller, portfolio manager, financial analyst, negotiator, clearing house, financial adviser and post-trade manager. In all, it concerns more than 380 people at the start. Thirty leading financial instrument traders who successfully passed the authorization exam for the June and September 2019 sessions received their professional authorization certificate on November 7, 2019.

Education also takes a prominent place in the AMMC's strategy. It has thus set up an enhanced financial education program comprising several annual actions aimed at different audiences and has set up a dedicated internal team.