MCB Dominates SEM Trading as 2.3 Million New Shares Hit the Market

The Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is set to inject 2,346,147 new ordinary shares into the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) this Monday 22 December, following a significant scrip dividend programme.

The issuance follows a board decision on 25 November to allow shareholders to opt for shares in lieu of cash, resulting in a total dividend value of Rs 929.7 million. This move brings the bank’s total shares in issue to 263,929,938.

Weekly Market Wrap

The market closed the week ending 19 December on a positive note, largely buoyed by intense activity surrounding MCB.

The banking giant accounted for the lion’s share of market turnover, with Rs 211 million worth of shares changing hands—representing 490,971 individual titles.

Despite the heavy trading volume, MCB’s share price remained unchanged at Rs 430.25 at Friday’s close.

Total market activity for the week reached 1.25 million shares with a combined value of Rs 233 million.

Other notable volumes were seen in New Mauritius Hotels (NMH), with 176,848 shares traded, and SBM Holdings (SBMH) at 160,190.

Gainers and Sector Trends

The week saw a broad range of equities finishing in the green:

• Alteo: Up 4.31%
• LUX Island Resorts:* Up 1.96%
• ER Group: Up 1.21%
• IBL: Up 0.85%
• Emtel: Up 0.84%
• SBMH: Up 0.31%
• CIEL: Up 0.23%

This positive momentum contrasts with the previous week ending 12 December, which saw a more divided performance.

During that period, the hotel sector showed resilience—with LUX* gaining 8.51% on 11 December—even as the wider index continued to slip and banking stocks like MCB and SBMH faced marginal retreats.

November Retrospective

The recent uplift follows a difficult November for the local exchange. Last month, the SEMDEX fell by 3.25% to close at 2,388.84 points, while the SEM-10 dropped 4.14% to 448.15.

However, trading floor activity actually rose by 3.6% compared to October, reaching a total transaction value of Rs 1,029.9 million.

MCB Group maintained its position as the market anchor, accounting for 51.9% of the entire monthly turnover.

Source: Defi Media