The shares traded 10 percent above the original offering price at 1425 GMT and at the limit for new shares in one session on the Casablanca stock exchange.

Analyst Bachir Tazi at Casablanca Finance Group (CFG) said institutional investors were trying to raise their exposure after the institutional allocation was set at just 7 percent.

Another Casablanca-based analyst, requesting anonymity, said the surge in CNIA Saada's share price reflects the scarcity of "good-quality listings" in the Moroccan stock exchange.

Morocco's insurance sector is Africa's second-biggest by gross written premiums which hit 20.9 billion dirhams in 2009, 5.6 percent up on 2008, according to the Moroccan insurance industry's group FMSAR.

But at $80.7, average insurance premium per capita is still below its equivalent in emerging economies.

"The penetration is high compared to African and Arab countries but is below many emerging economies. Growth potential in Morocco lies in micro insurance, life insurance — which is underdeveloped — compulsory insurance and forcing small and medium-size enterprises to insure their staff," the analyst said.

CNIA Saada raised 643 million dirhams ($78 million) from the sale of 617,500 shares — 15 percent of its capital — at 1,044 dirhams, or 14 times its estimated 2010 earnings.

The ratio is more pressing than CNIA's larger domestic peer Wafa Assurances, which trades at just under 13 times 2009 earnings, but at the lower end of a PE range of 10-27 times for 12 African and Middle Eastern Insurers provided by CNIA for comparison.

Morocco's second initial public offering in almost two years was subscribed more than twice over and valued CNIA Saada at 4.3 billion dirhams.

The bulk of the offered shares — or 11.7 percent of CNIA's capital — came from private equity funds PAIP-PCAP owned by Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management (KZAM) of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Kofi Bucknor, managing partnerat Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management, said Zephyr made 1.8 times its original $25 million investment.

Family-owned Saham Finances and Sanam Holding, two larger shareholders in CNIA Saada, saw their stakes in the company fall respectively from 52.8 to 50.4 percent and from 19.5 to 18.5 percent, according to the listing prospectus.

Saham — controlled by Moroccan businessman Hafid Elalamy — announced on Monday the acquisition of a controlling stake in insurance firm Colina to create synergies with CNIA Saada and open access to lucrative African markets.