Palestine Securities Exchange

The Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE), in Nablus, was incorporated as a private shareholding company in early 1995, with the Palestine Development & Investment Company (PADICO) and (SAMED) as its major investors.

After the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) approved a PADICO-sponsored design and work plan in July 1995, a project team was put together by the PSE and entrusted to establish a fully electronic exchange and depository. EFA Software Services, a Canadian company, provided both the trading and settlement & clearing systems. By August 1996 the Exchange was fully operational, and on November 7th of that year the PSE signed an operating agreement with the PNA, allowing for the licensing and qualification of brokerage firms to take place. On February 18, 1997, the PSE conducted its first trading session.

In 2006 the number of companies increased from 28 to 33, with the addition of six new companies and the de-listing of one company. A plan to offer 40% of the PSE’s shares to the public was not successful, but it was not discarded. PADICO attempted to sell 50% of its stake in the PSE, which accounts for 40% of the PSE’s total capital, but the attempt failed because of legislative delays. Trading on the Exchange was volatile, as trading volume witnessed periods of extremely thin and heavy trading. The Average Daily Trading Volume (ADTV) dropped 37.9% to 0.94 million shares, compared to 1.50 million shares in 2005, and the Average Daily Trading Value (ADTVa) dropped 49.1% to US$4.48 million, compared to US$8.52 million for the same period. Over the year, the PSE lost 38.8% of its market capitalization to close at US$2.73 billion. The Al-Quds Index lost 46.39% to close at 605 points,

Thirty-six shareholding companies have been approved for listing so far, with additional companies expected to be listed in the future. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/863367.html Who wants to buy shares when bullets are flying?] .] The current list of companies span a wide range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, utilities, telecommunications, and financial services. There are currently an estimated 40 Palestinian companies eligible to be listed on the Exchange, with a market capitalization of over $1 billion USD. Shares of listed companies are mostly traded in Jordanian Dinars, while some are traded in US Dollars.

Haaretz reports that since 2004, the PSE had lost 50% of its value by 2007. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/863367.html Who wants to buy shares when bullets are flying?] .]

The Exchange, often known as the Nablus stock exchange, collapsed from a daily turnover of $12 million in 2005 to about $6 million "on a good day" in 2007. [http://www.mideastyouth.com/2007/05/30/no-time-for-shares-when-fighting-rein/] At the same time the value of the 36 companies traded on the PSE crashed from a combined value of $4.5 billion to $2.8 billion over the same period.

The Exchange launched an e-trading portal on April 24, 2007, to allow investors to buy and sell stocks over the internet. [http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13319&Itemid=1]

Al-Quds Index

The market index is known as the Al-Quds Index. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/863367.html Who wants to buy shares when bullets are flying?] .] According to Haaretz, "the record year for the Al-Quds Index was 2004 when it reached 1,128 points. In 2005 it already crashed to 605 points, and in 2006 it dropped to 522 points."

Ownership

The PSE is controlled by PADICO, which is owned in turn by a number of leading Palestinian businessmen. PADICO is a holding company which has 11 subsidiaries in the industrial, real estate, tourism, and capital market sectors. Aside from being the largest company traded on the exchange, PADICO also owns the Palestinian phone monopoly Paltel. PADICO had a market value of $600 million in mid-2007, about a quarter of the value of all the shares traded on the PSE. [http://www.mideastyouth.com/2007/05/30/no-time-for-shares-when-fighting-rein/]

ee also

*List of Mideast stock exchanges
*List of stock exchanges
*List of stock market indices
*Stock exchange

References

External links

* [http://www.pse.ps Palestine Securities Exchange]
* [http://www.menafn.com/updates/research_center/Palestine/Equity_val/abinvest2006.pdf PSE 2006 Review]