The three-year downward performance of the Al-Quds Index reached an end this year.
The rebound in the performance was clear through the first quarter of the year when
the Index was to be the best performing index in the Middle East & North Africa
(MENA) region. The index then experienced a sharp decline in July affected by the
investors' fears about the companies' first half results. The index recovered slowly
after that to end the year with 12% gain.
Palestinian banks were able to overcome the negative effects of the global financial
crisis, while improving their financial performance. The banks resumed their natural
role of injecting money in the economy, without getting exposed to high risk assets.
In return, Palestinian companies proved their credit worthiness, stability, and
strong financial positions by getting involved in real investment opportunities.
Subsequently, the economy did not suffer a credit crunch and avoided illiquidity
problems, which prevented the country from going into a recession. We expect
companies to continue to show strong fundamentals and banks to continue to extend
the credit needed, helping the economy to continue its growth.
Please click on the following link to read the PSE 2009 Newsletter report.
http://www.ab-invest.net/dmdocuments/PSE_2009_Newsletter.pdf
