PSE holds press conference to announce outcomes of its road show to Chile

The road show was organized by the PSE in partnership with Bank of Palestine (BoP) between the 4th and 6th of May 2009 in Santiago in order to promote investment in Palestine and in the Palestinian companies listed on the PSE.

The road shows aim to attract tangible investments into the listed companies and the Palestinian economy in general.

Mr. Ahmad Aweidah, Chief Executive Officer of PSE, stated:

"One of the main priorities of the PSE in the next phase is improving domestic institutional investor capability in the PSE and attracting Diaspora and new foreign investors into the market."

He added that the PSE will execute a series of road shows over the coming few months, Chile was the first stop due to the fact that there is a sizable and influential Palestinian Diaspora there with significant means.

Mr. Aweidah added that the Chile road show lead to some good preliminary outcomes, potential partnerships could arise from the productive and fruitful B2B meetings held between businessmen from both sides. One main achievement of the road show is the potential for listing the Chilean Palestinian Football club (CLUB PALESTINO listed on the Electronic Chilean Exchange) on the PSE. There is also potential for cooperation between brokerage firms in both countries on establishing a $5m fund dedicated to the Palestinian market to be marketed in Chile.

Mr. Aweidah also announced that the PSE in cooperation with its partners in Chile will arrange a follow up business visit to Palestine by Chilean/Palestinian business leaders towards the end of October 2009.

During the road show, PSE representatives met with the Electronic Bourse in Chile where the possibility of future cooperation on the launch of an OTC Forex market was discussed.

Mr. Hashem Shawa, Chairman and CEO of Bank of Palestine (BoP) also spoke of potential future cooperation between Chilean and Palestinian financial institutions in terms of establishing direct correspondent banking relations to facilitate financial transactions.

During the road show, the Palestinian delegation presented a profile of the capital market sector in general and listed companies in specific focusing on the success stories of some of the listed companies on the exchange, in addition to demonstrating that Palestine is a place with enormous potential and investment opportunities.