Moulay Hafid Elalamy pulls out of European real estate to focus fully on Africa

Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the well-known Moroccan businessman and former minister, has decided to shut down his real estate business in Europe and redirect his group’s entire focus to Africa.

Sources told Hespress Ar that Elalamy is liquidating Saham Group Europe, the European arm of his holding company, which he launched in France back in 2020 to invest in real estate. 

The Paris-based branch, initially managed by his son Moulay El Mehdi Elalamy, is now being closed in a friendly and planned manner, with El Mehdi again taking charge of the process.

Elalamy’s group, Saham Holding, recently made major deals in Morocco, including the purchase of Société Générale Maroc and its insurance subsidiary, La Marocaine Vie, for nearly 8 billion dirhams. 

This marked the birth of a new Moroccan banking player, ready to grow across Africa, joining the likes of Attijariwafa Bank and Bank of Africa.

After this acquisition, the group’s new bank showed strong performance: deposits grew by almost 9% to 80.1 billion dirhams, and loans hit nearly 94 billion. The bank’s profits also improved, with net banking income rising 4.17% to 5.8 billion dirhams.

This shift is all part of a larger strategy. Elalamy is aiming to concentrate Saham’s resources on sectors like finance, education, agriculture, and real estate, but only within Africa. Morocco, naturally, is at the heart of these plans.

It’s worth noting that Saham Holding had exited the insurance market back in 2018 by selling its company to South Africa’s Sanlam. But now, it’s diving back into financial services with a renewed African focus.

The move away from Europe came just months after Saham was reportedly in talks to acquire Société Générale’s branch in Mauritania. The group’s ambitions are now firmly rooted in the African continent.