Palestine Financial Market Update
World Bank gives Palestinian Authority $40m
The World Bank has granted the Palestinian Authority $40m to strengthen its fiscal position and improve the handling of public finances after the agency saw progress in budgetary management, Bloomberg has reported. World Bank Acting Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza Dina Abu-Ghaida has said the grant signals a 'positive assessment' of the Palestinian reform and development plan.
Palestine fund goes inward
The Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF) with about $850m, wants its small fund to go into new directions, that is investing in the Palestinian economy, instead of putting the money abroad, reported Financial Times. The fund expects 50% of its capital invested in the Palestinian territories by yearend. PIF is investing in the creation of a second mobile phone operator in the Palestinian territories, in initial partnership with Wataniya.
Palestine seeks Arab funds
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has asked Arab nations to provide more financial support to his country as a donors conference gets underway today, Monday, in Paris, reported the AP. Fayyad is seeking $5.6bn over three years, with 70% of the funds destined for budget support and the rest earmarked for development projects. The Arab League has provided $55m a month since 2002 but it hasn't always paid up in full.
Wages for Palestinians
Around 140,000 Palestinian Authority workers have been paid their first wages in 17 months, after Israel, the US and other western nations ended an economic embargo last month, according to the FT. But prime minister Salam Fayyad said 19,000 Hamas appointed workers have been excluded from payment, including 6,000 members of Hamas's elite Executive Force.
Israel conflict hits Palestine
Jordan's King Abdullah, addressing the World Economic Forum which has got underway in his kingdom, has said that the conflict between the Arab region and Israel is having a serious impact on Palestine's economy, reported Gulf News. King Abdullah pointed out that the troubles were affecting Palestinians 'from all walks of life'. He added that 60% of job seekers in the Occupied Territories were unable to find work.
Israel "obstructing" Palestine
Israel is hindering economic progress in Palestine by restricting the movement of Palestinian people in the West Bank, according to the World Bank. Half of the West Bank is closed to most Palestinians, obstructing trade and commerce. Palestine's economy is near collapse and it relies on foreign aid, which was $1bn in 2006. An economic embargo on the Hamas-led government is worsening the situation.
Mubasher in Palestinian tie-up
Stock market data provider Mubasher has signed a strategic agreement with the Palestinian Stock Market Exchange that will enable the company to provide website users and investors with access to Palestinian financial information through the Mubasher Pro real time stock market information service. Mubasher now offers its services in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and, as of earlier this month, Bahrain.
Palestinians seek $1.3bn
The Palestinian finance minister says the government is facing a funding crisis and needs $1.3bn in financial aid, the BBC reported. Salam Fayyad has appealed to the EU to resume financial aid to the new unity government, which it had suspended last year following the election of Hamas to the Palestinian Authority.
80% of Palestinians in poverty
Eighty per cent of the Palestinians are living below the poverty line and per capita income has dropped from $2,000 to $1,000, according to Dr Riyad Mansour of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations, cited by The Peninsula. Mansour said that Palestinians collectively have become dependent on humanitarian aid and donations.
Security measures hit Palestine
The Palestinian economy has been hit by the security measures being employed by Israel which are affecting the freedom of movement of people and goods, reported Arab News. Both Gaza and the West Bank are affected and the security wall being constructed by the Israelis is adding to the problem. The withdrawal of aid and the boycott of exports by Western nations since Hamas' election has badly damaged the economy.
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