Moroccan property company Compagnie Generale Immobiliere (CGI) aims to raise as much as $430 million in one of the biggest initial public offerings of recent years on the Casablanca stock market.

CGI, a subsidiary of state investment firm CDG, specialises in developing and commercialising high-profile urban development projects including apartment blocks, offices, hospitals and leisure centres.

The company plans to offer 3.68 million shares, of which 2.2 million will be new stock, for 832-952 dirhams each, raising between 3.06 billion and 3.50 billion dirhams ($375.3-429.3 million), market regulator CDVM said in a statement.

The subscription period is July 23 to 27 and the placement is managed by all the main brokerages on the Casablanca bourse.

'This could push the whole market down a bit in the short run as some people will sell shares to buy into CGI,' said a senior market analyst.

A lack of new equity paper on the small Casablanca stock market and soaring demand have pushed Morocco stocks to giddy heights in the past year.Reuters