2023-08-25 19:50:00
Fifteen years following its creation, the Oriental Fund (FIRO) is regarding to get a facelift. Indeed, the shareholders of this investment vehicle, launched on royal initiative, have finally decided to bring the capital to its target level of 300 million dirhams (MDH), following a first closing in 2007 limited to half.
Why such a surge when the initial experience was a bitter failure with more than half of the amounts injected consumed in operating expenses and another half badly deployed, with totally burnt investments (Microchoix and Monlait) and others having generated a bottom line profitability (Midi Peintures, etc.)?
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It seems that the decision to recapitalize FIRO stems from a political will to provide the Oriental Region with a real territorial development tool for SMEs in the region, in the light of an economic recovery hoped for on the sidelines of the entry into service of the Nador West Med port and the launch of major structuring projects. A desire that also pushed Casablanca. Alpha 55 chooses the Aeria Mall for its new point of sale FIRO shareholders, who include both private players (Bank Of Africa, Attijariwafa bank and Holmarcom) and public institutions (Hassan II Fund, Council of the Region of ‘Oriental, Agence de développement de l’Oriental, Crédit Agricole du Maroc, BCP and CDG) to change governance by resorting to a completely independent manager, contrary to the previous experience where management had been devolved to Firogest, a company owned by the same shareholders, hence its total lack of independence from investors.
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Now that the new path mapped out is more in line with best practices in investment fund management, it remains to choose the right manager for a region that is reputed to be complicated and with a fabric of SMEs that are less open to the financial market and more autarkic and, moreover, for a small size whose level of management fees is unlikely to attract private equity majors who prefer to focus on larger investment funds that are therefore more profitable for them and their teams.
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