Moroccan pharma tycoon Lamia Tazi suffers $9-million loss from Sothema stake

Moroccan pharma tycoon Lamia Tazi has seen the market value of her stake in Marocaine Ste de Therapeutique (Sothema) slump by more than $9 million since the start of the year, as shares in the Casablanca-based pharmaceutical company suffered a significant decline.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, the Moroccan business executive, who ranks as one of the richest businesswomen in the region, has seen the market value of her stake in Sothema decline by MAD90.75 million ($9.18 million) since the beginning of the year as investors trimmed down stakes in the pharma firm as part of a strategic move to reduce stakes in risky assets.

Sothema is Morocco’s leading healthcare company, producing approximately 60 million units of drugs per year and operating a diverse portfolio of 35 multinational laboratories that produce and export goods to Europe, the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

Tazi, the CEO and chairperson of Sothema and one of the most affluent investors on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, holds a substantial 8.4-percent stake in the leading healthcare company, which corresponds to 605,030 issued shares.

Since the start of the year, Sothema’s shares on the Casablanca Stock Exchange have slumped by 11.36 percent, declining from MAD1,320 ($133.54) on Jan. 1 to a price of MAD1,170 ($118.37) at the time of writing, thus leading to losses amounting to millions of dollars for its shareholders, including Tazi.

As a result of the double-digit percent decline in Sothema shares, the market value of Tazi’s stake in the company has declined by MAD90.75 million ($9.18 million) since the start of the year, from MAD 798.64 million ($80.80 million) on Jan. 1 to MAD 707.89 million ($71.62 million) at the time of writing this report.