Palestinian investments abroad outweigh investments at home - statistics

Preliminary results of the International Investment Position (IIP) and External Debt statistics for Palestine as of end of the second quarter 2018 showed that the IIP (external assets – foreign liabilities) for Palestine at the end of second quarter 2018 amounted to about $1,492 million, which means that the Palestinian economy’s investments outside Palestine outweighs investments in Palestine from abroad.

A joint report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) published on Monday said the resident cash deposits in foreign banks and foreign exchange in the Palestinian economy accounted for the bulk of the external assets, constituting 59.7% of the total value of external assets.

The total stocks of External Assets for Palestinian economy amounted to $6,413 million, the Foreign Direct Investment abroad contributed to 5.4%, Portfolio Investments abroad reached 21.9%, while other Foreign Investments abroad (mainly currency and deposits) reached 64.5% and Reserve Assets amounted to 8.2%, at sectoral level, the external investments of banks sector represented a large share of the external assets, standing at 68.7% 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 $4,921 million, the Foreign Direct Investment in Palestine contributed to 55.0%, Portfolio Investments in Palestine reached 13.8% and other investments in Palestine (mainly loans and deposits from abroad) amounted to 31.2%, at sectoral level, the foreign investments in banks sector contributed a major value in the foreign liabilities, represented by 35.5% of the total value of foreign liabilities on Palestinian economy.

The Gross External Debt on the Palestinian economic sectors reached $1,579 million, the debt on government sector represented 65.1%, while debt on banks sector reached 29.5%, and debt on other sectors (nonbank financial corporations, non-financial corporations, NGOs and households sector) amounted to 2.6%, and the lending between affiliated companies reached 2.8%.