Palestine Stock Exchange

As early as 1995, a number of pioneers in the Palestinian private sector realized the importance of creating a well-regulated, up-to-date market for securities in the country. The aim was to tap and channel domestic and foreign capital into the business community through long-term financing of commercial and infrastructure projects. Their ideas materialized into an agreement signed with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on November 7, 1996 to operate the Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE) as a private shareholding company. On February 18, 1997, PSE conducted its first trading session as the first fully automated and electronic Arab stock exchange.

Despite its modest beginning, the exchange maintained continued growth in terms of listed companies, number of sessions and trading volumes. From only a few companies listed in early 1997, the number of listed companies rose to 36 in 2007. This is expected to grow further after the formation of a stronger financial markets regulatory framework in Palestine, including the Capital Market Authority (CMA) which supervises non-bank financial institutions, including the PSE. There are eight brokerage firms that are members of the PSE, with branch offices in most Palestinian cities.

Not only has it proven itself resilient and capable of overcoming the political, social, and economic odds that are firmly stacked up against it; the PSE was way out in front of world’s exchanges with a gain in Al-Quds index of 306% in 2005. Moreover, trading values surged in 2005 to reach $2.096 billion, which is more than double of all values for all years since the first trading session in 1997 and until 2004. The market capitalization surged to almost $4.5 Billion, that is as big or bigger than stock markets in seven of the 10 new European Union members.

Although the existing setup is capable of trading several financial instruments, only equities are currently traded at PSE, with ongoing plans to trade other securities in the future. Shares of the listed companies are mostly traded in Jordanian dinars, while some are traded in US dollars.

External links

Brokerage Firms Under PSE [http://www.p-s-e.com]

Sahem Trading & Investments [http://www.sahem-inv.com] ,Jordan Palestine ,United,Target,Watania,Global,Lotus,Wasata,Nawras,