RAMALLAH, June 21, 2018 (WAFA) – A joint report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and  the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) published on Thursday said that Palestinian investments abroad outweigh investments in Palestine from abroad.

In the report on the preliminary results of the International Investment Position (IIP) and External Debt statistics for Palestine as of end of the first quarter 2018, the primary results of the IIP (external assets – foreign liabilities) revealed that the net IIP amounted to about $1,054 million, which means that the Palestinian economy’s investments outside Palestine outweigh investments in Palestine from abroad.

The resident cash deposits in foreign banks and foreign exchange in the Palestinian economy accounted for the bulk of the external assets, constituting 62.2% of the total value of external assets.

The total stocks of external assets for Palestinian economy amounted to $6,211 million, the foreign direct investment abroad contributed to 6.2%, portfolio investments abroad reached 18%, while other foreign investments abroad (mainly currency and deposits) reached 66.8% and reserve assets amounted to 9%, at sectoral level, the external investments of banks sector represented a large share of the external assets standing at 72% of the total value of external assets for Palestinian economy.

The total stocks of foreign liabilities in Palestine (stocks of non-residents invested in Palestine) amounted to $5,157 million, the foreign direct investment in Palestine contributed to 52%, portfolio investments in Palestine reached 16.3% and other investments (mainly loans and deposits from abroad) amounted to 31.7%, at sectoral level, the foreign investments in banks sector contributed a major value in the foreign liabilities, represented by 37.3% of the total value of foreign liabilities on Palestinian economy.

The gross external debt on the Palestinian economic sectors reached $1,640 million, the debt on government sector represented 63.4%, while debt on banks sector reached 32%, and debt on other sectors (non-bank financial corporations, non-financial corporations, NGOs and households sector) amounted to 4.3%, and the lending between affiliated companies reached 0.3%.

M.K.