The PCMA has implemented a number of awareness activities relating to the development of the legal environment, the development of the PCMA’s technical work, and raising public awareness of the importance of the non-banking financial sector, which is an essential pillar of the PCMA’s mission towards the public of citizens in Palestine. The PCMA seeks to enhance the capabilities of citizens and their financial culture in the sectors it supervises, in addition to strengthening its internal and external relations through many meetings and initiatives, based on its plans, programs and tasks enjoyed under the law and the strategic objectives specified in the five-year strategic plan 2021-2025. Below is set of educational activities and programs that were implemented during the year 2022:
Launching the Financial Awareness Coalition in Palestine
The PCMA launched the Financial Awareness Coalition in Palestine, participated by civil society organizations, the media, and academics from various Palestinian universities.
The Financial Awareness Coalition in Palestine aims to spread societal financial culture and raise the level of awareness among Palestinian citizens in the field of services provided by the non-banking financial sectors.
The coalition includes representatives from the non-banking financial sector, civil society organizations, universities, and journalists. Joining this coalition is welcomed for all parties interested.
The PCMA will lead this Coalition with all partners in an endeavour to spread financial culture in the local community, through a set of interventions represented in preparing studies and research, organizing seminars, lectures and conferences, and developing the capabilities of the main players in this field.
Launching the Financial Journalism Lab in its third and fourth editions
The PCMA launched its third edition of the Financial Journalism Lab in Ramallah over two days. The focus during the lab was on the financial leasing sector in Palestine. The PCMA also launched the fourth edition in the city of Jericho over two days, with the participation of 30 media and economics students from Palestinian universities.
The Journalism Lab comes within the PCMA’s partnership with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation through the Palestinian Ministry of Finance.
The training program for the Journalism Lab, in its third edition, dealt with the characteristics, opportunities and challenges of the non-banking financial sector, presenting the statistics of financial leasing, in addition to introducing the program and its economic importance.
The program also dealt with presenting local and Arab press models on the financial leasing sector and practical applications for preparing press reports presented by the two economic journalists, Ayham Abu Ghosh and Muhammad Rajoub.
The Journalism Lab, in its fourth edition, was attended by the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Economic Affairs, Dr. Shaker Khalil, Director General of the PCMA, Barraq Al-Nabulsi, and Director of the Economic Development Program at the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Muhammad Musleh.
The Journalism Lab dealt with seven training sessions relating to the basics of financial press, presented by journalist Muhammad Khabisa. A training workshop regarding media and entrepreneurship was presented by Saed Karazon, and a training workshop regarding social media presented by journalist Mahmoud Hreibat.
The Lab encompassed training meetings that included a general introduction to the non-banking financial sector in Palestine, an introductory presentation regarding the financial leasing sector, in addition to a meeting regarding the securities sector, and another meeting regarding financial technology and financial inclusion.
Hebron: The PCMA organizes a tour of industrial facilities
Commercial and introductory meeting on financial leasing
During the past year, the PCMA carried out a tour at the industrial and commercial establishments in Hebron Governorate, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce there.
The Governor of Hebron, Major General Jibreen Al-Bakri, received the PCMA’s team, presenting the economic reality in the governorate, the efforts exerted to achieve growth and stability, and the mechanisms of cooperation between the governorate, the Chamber of Commerce and all components of the Hebron community.
On the same day, the PCMA organized an introductory meeting on the financial leasing sector in the governorate, in cooperation with the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and with the support of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency, with the participation of financial leasing companies in Palestine.
It is noteworthy that the financial leasing sector in Palestine plays an important and effective economic role in the development and growth of the Palestinian economy, by supporting the base of productive assets and increasing the competitiveness of the local economic establishment and keeping pace with technological development.
The PCMA launches the World Investor Week 2022 in Palestine
In partnership with the Palestine Exchange, the PCMA launched the “World Investor Week 2022” activities, entitled “Flexible Investment and Promoting Sustainable Development,” according to the initiative launched by the International Organization of Supervisory Authorities on Financial Markets (IOSCO).
The launching came through a panel discussion in cooperation with the Palestinian Federation of Local Authorities and the Environment Quality Authority, aiming to highlight the most prominent projects of local authorities and promising opportunities, presenting local success stories in green energy, the most prominent achievements of the Environmental Quality Authority, the role of awareness and environmental education, and their contributions to Promoting sustainable development, future aspirations, and obstacles facing the sustainable development project.
During the week, many activities were implemented that focused on the issue of flexible investment and the promotion of sustainable development in parallel with the Securities and Exchange Commissions in (103) countries around the world.
During the Global Investor Week, and in partnership with the Palestine Exchange, the PCMA launched a joint campaign on its social media platforms, in order to broadcast important messages about sustainable development and flexible investment. A short video and an electronic brochure were produced for the same purpose, in addition to a number of radio and television interviews and on podcast channels.
A dialogue session on the opportunities of using technology in the insurance sector
The PCMA organized a dialogue session entitled “Opportunities to use technology in the insurance sector”, as part of its partnership with the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment, and the Federation of Insurance Companies, with the support of the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
The session was attended by the Vice President of the Union, Nihad Asaad, representatives of the entrepreneurship sector in Palestine, the director of the business accelerator “Flo” Majd Khalifa, and the director of the (N gate) program, Mona Dmaidi, in the presence of a group of partners, entrepreneurs and those interested in this field.
The speakers reviewed the vision of insurance technology for insurance companies and the entrepreneurial sector, and the challenges and obstacles that prevent the creation of tangible progress in this regard, in addition to exploring the interventions required to develop technological solutions in the insurance industry.
The issuance of a report on the challenges of implementing the national strategy for financial inclusion within the activities of the Arab Financial Inclusion Day 2022
In response to the initiative of the Arab Monetary Fund, the PCMA issued a report addressing the challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the national strategy for financial inclusion within the activities of the Arab Financial Inclusion Day.
The report dealt with a set of challenges that faced the implementation of the national strategy for the financial inclusion in Palestine, as a result of the repercussions of the financial and economic policies of the occupation, especially the two clearing crises, and the Israeli occupation stopping supplying the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian government. The first crisis was in 2019 and the second one took place at the beginning of the 2020.
These two crises resulted in the interruption of the salaries of the public sector’s employees, the interruption of government financial transfers, and the inability of the Palestinian government to fulfill its financial obligations towards suppliers of goods and services in the private sector. This led to a sharp decline in the basic needs of the private sector, or the fulfillment of the retirement obligations, especially those relating to the financial sector, such as the payment of loan installments, premiums of insurance policies, monthly installments resulting from financial leasing contracts, and other financial commitments. This resulted in a decline in the volume of aggregate demand in the Palestinian economy as a result of a sharp decline in the level of per capita income of the Palestinian citizen.
The full report can be viewed under the following link:
تقارير اليوم العربي للشمول المالي 2022 – هيئة سوق رأس المال (pcma.ps)
Signing local Memoranda of Understanding
The PCMA and the Palestinian Land Authority signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of the work in the field of real estate valuation at the Land Authority, in addition to exchanging the accumulated experience s between the two parties.
The memorandum provides for achieving cooperation and joint coordination, setting work mechanisms, defining the tasks and obligations of the relevant parties, and cooperating to organize and develop the real estate appraisal sector and real estate appraisers, including standardizing appraisal standards, monitoring, and supervising real estate appraisers.
With regard to spreading awareness of the non-banking financial sectors in the academic institutions, a memorandum of understanding between the PCMA and the Birzeit University was renewed, which includes various areas of cooperation.
In the same context, the PCMA and An-Najah National University entered into a memorandum of understanding aiming to enhance cooperation, exchange experiences, and raise awareness of non-banking financial sectors among students.
