You bought your first share on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. A few months later the company announces a dividend, a capital increase or a stock split. What happens to your portfolio? All these issuer-driven decisions are called Corporate Actions (OSTs in French) — and every one of them has a concrete impact on the value or quantity of your holdings.
This guide breaks down each type, the key dates to know, and the choices you'll occasionally be asked to make.
What is a corporate action?
A corporate action is any event initiated by the issuing company that affects securities already in circulation. Concretely, it can be:
A dividend payment (you receive cash) . A capital increase (the company creates new shares). A bonus issue of new shares for free. A stock split (par value divided, share count multiplied). A reverse split (the opposite of a split). A tender offer (buyout, exchange, mandatory repurchase)
Some corporate actions add cash to your account, others simply change the number or unit value of your holdings without altering the total value of your position. None is truly neutral — every one of them has an effect to understand.
Two main families of corporate actions
Mandatory actions (automatic)
You do nothing: your custodian applies the action automatically. Examples:
Cash dividends. Bond coupons / interest payments. Automatic bonus shares. Splits and reverse splits
Voluntary actions (optional)
You must make a decision within a given window, otherwise a default option applies. Examples:
Subscribing to a capital increase (using your Preferential Subscription Rights, PSRs). Whether or not to tender your shares in a takeover. Choosing between cash dividend and scrip dividend when offered
Remember: ignoring a voluntary action has a cost — you sometimes give up a value that won't come back.
The main corporate actions explained
Dividend payment
The company distributes part of its profits to shareholders.
You receive cash per share held on the "ex-dividend date". The share price drops mechanically by the dividend amount that day — your total wealth is unchanged in the moment, but a slice of it moves into cash. In Morocco, dividends are subject to a 12.5% withholding tax (2025 rate — always check the latest finance law before factoring it in).
Capital increase
The company issues new shares to raise funds.
- If you're already a shareholder you receive Preferential Subscription Rights (PSRs) — one per share held.
- You have three options: (1) subscribe to buy new shares at a usually discounted price, (2) sell your PSRs on the market if you don't want to commit cash, (3) do nothing — in which case your PSRs expire worthless (the worst choice).
Bonus shares
The company hands you free additional shares (typically 1 new share per X existing).
- Your share count goes up, the share price adjusts down — your total wealth is unchanged.
- Why companies do it: improve liquidity and broaden the shareholder base.
Stock split
The company divides the par value (e.g. 1 share at 1,000 MAD becomes 10 shares at 100 MAD each).
- You hold 10× more shares, each worth 10× less. No gain, no loss.
- Practical effect: the stock becomes more accessible to small investors.
Tender offers (takeover, exchange, mandatory)
A buyer (corporate or majority shareholder) offers to buy out the remaining holders.
Cash offer: purchase in cash. Exchange offer: swap for the buyer's shares. Mandatory offer: forced buyout, usually to delist the security.
You generally have 1 to 4 weeks to decide. Read the AMMC-approved information note to understand the offered premium.
Key dates to memorise
Three dates frame every corporate action:
- Announcement date: the issuer publishes an official press release.
- Ex-date (detachment date): the day the right (dividend, PSR, etc.) is separated from the share. To benefit from the action you must have bought the share before this date.
- Payment / allotment date: the day you actually receive the cash or the new securities.
Buying on the ex-date itself does not entitle you to the action.
How are you informed?
Your custodian (the brokerage that holds your securities account) is responsible for:
Notifying you of any corporate action affecting your holdings. Asking for your instructions on voluntary actions. Providing a statement after the event with: What you received or gave up (cash, shares). Any fees (usually zero for mandatory actions). The tax handling. The effective date on your account.
On Nommo every corporate action affecting your positions appears automatically in your portfolio with a detailed log.
Corporate actions and tax in Morocco
Dividends: 12.5% withholding tax (2025 rate). Bond coupons: 20% withholding tax. Capital gains on listed shares: 15% (2025 rate). Bonus shares and splits: non-taxable — they don't create income.
Always check the latest finance law: these rates can change.
Going further
To better understand your next dividend or capital increase, also read our ABC of investing guide and our financial glossary covering every term used above.