RABAT, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Morocco’s government, battling to contain a high budget deficit, has agreed to sell a 10 percent stake in Banque Populaire, its second divestment in the lender in a little over a year.
The finance ministry said the sale to Banque Populaire’s regional branches would reduce to 6.34 percent the state’s interest in one of the country’s top three lenders, the official MAP news agency reported.
The government raised 5.3 billion dirhams ($617 million) from the sale of 20 percent of the bank in May, 2011, a time when a spending spree to contain street protests has burdened its finances.
Shares in the bank closed down 0.09 percent on Monday at 202 dirhams. ($1 = 8.5945 Moroccan dirhams) (Reporting By Souhail Karam)
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