Reform of the governance of Morocco’s state-owned enterprises is an important lever for widening their access to private finance and capital markets, according to a new OECD report relayed by Le Matin daily. Effective implementation of the new State Shareholding Policy, including rationalization of the portfolio of public holdings, will require lasting political commitment and adequate institutional capacity.
The OECD notes that no list of candidates for stock-market listing has been communicated. Access to capital markets is therefore part of a broader reform of state shareholding, without an immediate privatization or listing program. The national agency managing state holdings, ANGSPE, is conducting three sectoral studies, on the public financial sector, logistics and tourism, to clarify the roles of public actors, reduce duplication and leave room for private investment.
The reform rests on two laws promulgated in 2021, one on the reform of public establishments and enterprises, and the second created ANGSPE. The agency is tasked with professionalizing the state’s shareholder function, centralizing oversight of strategic assets and separating shareholding responsibilities from operational management. The State Shareholding Policy was adopted by decree in December 2024.
The OECD cites a memorandum of understanding signed in April 2025 between ANGSPE and the capital markets authority AMMC to ease public companies’ access to market instruments. It says ANGSPE has helped companies move from traditional state-backed financing to market funding, structuring bond issues, including green bonds, and securitizations. Such financing has supported investment programs in transport, infrastructure, energy and industry.
For the OECD, Morocco’s experience shows that access to capital markets can be developed without an immediate privatization. Moving from institutional reform to effective implementation remains the main challenge, it says, and market depth, liquidity and investor confidence will also be decisive.
