Ramallah - Palestine Economy Portal.

Chairman of the Palestine Exchange (PEX), Ahmed Oweidah, announced that the dividend of the listed companies in the PEX to their shareholders for the fiscal year 2018, amounted to US $ 188 million, a decrease of 2.66% compared to the dividends of 2017 amounting to approximately US $ 193 million. Despite difficult political and economic conditions.

According to a statement issued by the ASE on Tuesday, Oweidah reviewed the number of listed companies distributing dividends in the form of cash dividends, bonus shares, or both. The total of 48 companies are listed.

The number of companies distributed cash dividend 20 companies, while one company distributed bonus shares, and 9 companies distributed cash dividends and bonus shares together.

The total cash dividend amounted to $ 151,403,188, while the financial year 2017 amounted to $ 159,871,593, a decrease of 5.30%. 9.12%.

The market capitalization of dividend companies amounted to 77% of the total market capitalization of the stock market, which is approximately $ 2.878 billion, knowing that the total market capitalization of the stock market amounted to $ 3.734 billion on 31/12/2018. The return on investment for 2018 was 5.27%, compared to 5.54% in 2017, reflecting a decrease in the cash dividends of the companies. Year 2018.

Owaida stressed that the annual returns are excellent compared to the interest rates on bank deposits, which proves once again the ability of Palestinian companies to adapt to different circumstances, in light of the uncertainty that controls the level of government financial, and the fear surrounding the Palestinian private sector and its negative impact on investment in Palestine.