Author: pad1co@dm1n

Masri:  Recent events will only increase our determination to invest for the sake of the country

Amman, 31 May 2021

PADICO General Assembly held its 26^th annual meeting through visual communication technology, today, Monday, in the presence of shareholders holding shares in person and by proxy, which constitute 72% of the company’s capital, in addition to the company’s Secretary General as rapporteur for the meeting, the legal advisor and the external auditor.

The meeting was headed by the Chairman of PADICO BOD Bashar Masri, who welcomed the attendants and presented the Board’s report of 2020, mentioning the most important achievements accomplished by the company and the challenges confronted during the year.

In his presentation, Masri said, “the year 2020 constituted an unprecedented challenge in our path due to Corona pandemic, which affected the entire economic sector that the company invests in them. The largest damage was in the tourism sector, which has witnessed a complete cessation of work since the first of March 2020, as its losses exceeded $1.5 billion in Palestine, and the gross domestic product decreased by 12%.”

Masri added, “We passed through this difficult stage with stability and steadfastness thanks to the wise policies adopted by the company’s BOD in the past few years, which were represented in controlling expenses, carefully distributing profits, and stopping the bleeding emanating from some projects, which contributed to strengthening the company’s financial position.” Masri pointed out that despite the large impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the entire economic sectors in Palestine, PADICO and its subsidiaries and affiliates achieved good operational profits. But the decline in share prices on local and regional stock exchanges and the failure to receive dividends from these investments had a tangible impact on the decline in profits in the year 2020 from their normal level.

Masri said, “we were looking forward to the best and working hard at the beginning of this year, but the beginning was not successful, especially with the continuation of the effects of the Corona pandemic, and then the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the massive destruction incurred on our investments there, but we confirm once again the permanent BOD decision to focus on investment in Gaza and Jerusalem. My message for all the shareholders is that PADICO was established to invest in Palestine despite the risks and I am quite sure of your confidence in us and your support to us to flourish our national economy, and we are determined to invest for the sake of our homeland.”

PADICO’s performance in 2021

The operational performance witnessed a significant decline in the performance of PADICO companies operating in the tourism sector, due to the effects of the Corona pandemic, as previously mentioned, especially since all hotels stopped working and closed completely early last year.

At the level of PADICO’s largest investment, the Palestine Telecommunication Company (Paltel) achieved good results from its operational processes despite the repercussions of Corona pandemic. Paltel sought to enhance and develop its services and products and stimulate optimal technological solutions for subscribers, but its net profits were affected, like many other private sector companies by the decline in the performance of the stock portfolio.

At the level of the industrial sector, Palestine Company for Industrial Investment achieved growth in its operational performance, despite the challenges witnessed in Palestine, including closures and cessation of work. The company continued the construction of a huge dairy factory in Al-Nabi Saleh area in Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, which is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2022. The company is also working on establishing a fodder factory with a local investor in Bethlehem governorate to expand its market share in the southern West Bank, and the actual production will start in 2022. The company is also working on expanding its investments in livestock projects, where its completed the first cow farm in Tulkarem governorate.

In 2020, PADICO inaugurated the generation of electric power from a solar energy project in Gaza Industrial City with a production capacity reaching 7.3 megawatts, which is considered the biggest of its kind in Palestine and the second in the Middle East. But during the last aggression, Gaza Industrial City was bombed, which led to the destruction of 30% of the project.

At the real estate level, Jericho Gate for Real Estate Investment continued the implementation of its unique and prestigious project, as the entire residential lands were sold in the first phase of the project after completing the infrastructure completely. This is in addition to selling other areas within the second and third phases of the project and the company achieved good operational profits.

At the level of new strategic projects, the company, through its investment arm in the real estate sector (PRICO), signed a partnership and investment agreement with the Board of Trustees of Birzeit University to establish a commercial building in Ramallah, which contributes to consolidating the relationship between the private and academic sectors and enhancing cooperation with civil society institutions in a number of investment areas.

At the level of financial indicators, the company, despite the negative impact of Corona pandemic on all the economic sectors in Palestine and the world, was able to achieve consolidated profits of $4.8 million in 2020, the consolidated revenues amounted to $109 million, total assets $780 million, equity $449 million and book value per share $1.49.

The meeting presented PADICO’s participation of the Palestinian civil society during Corona pandemic, as it was one of the first to put the company’s facilities at the disposal of the Palestinian Ministry of Health for the benefit of public service. In Jerusalem, PADICO cooperated with the Jerusalem Consortium by equipping Saint George Hotel as premises for social quarantine. In Gaza, the Blue Beach resort was placed as a center for quarantine and care for returnees from abroad for about a year, and in Bethlehem, the Jacir Palace Hotel was placed at the disposal of officials to support efforts to deal with the epidemic.

It’s worth noting that PADICO Holding invests in vital and a variety of sectors most important of which are communications and information technology, financial services, real estate, tourism, industry and agriculture and industrial zones, in addition to infrastructure and energy. It continues to work to achieve its mission and commitment to help develop the Palestinian economy, create job opportunities, and launch creative economic initiatives.

Gaza, 18 May 2021

The continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip for the ninth consecutive day targeted the Gaza Industrial City, causing damage to a number of factories, and the electric power generation from solar energy on the roofs of buildings project.

Khaled Anabtawi, the Chairman of BOD of Gaza Industrial City, one of PADICO’s investments in Gaza, clarified that the Israeli occupation targeted on two consecutive days the Industrial City, with several raids launched by the occupation’s warplanes and artillery, which led to severe damage of more than 10 factories.

Anabtawi added that the Israeli raids on the Industrial city caused severe damage to the electric power generation from solar energy on the roofs of buildings project in Gaza Industrial city that was inaugurated by Bashar Masri, the Chairman of PADICO Holding BOD, two months ago in Gaza.

 “Praise be to God, there were no human casualties during the recent raids on the Industrial City, and this is the most important thing for us, but unfortunately we cannot overlook the enormous economic damage caused by the aggression on the sector as a whole, including the Industrial City,” he said.

Anabtawi added that the electric power generation project aims to permanently provide electricity for factories due to the electricity problem in Gaza Strip but today this project, whose estimated cost amounted to $12 million, is again threatened with shelling and complete destruction. This is in addition to the losses of the factories that have been subjected to shelling and cessation of their works since the beginning of the aggression and the other losses due to the siege that has been imposed on Gaza for approximately 14 years. However, we have not yet been able to count the financial losses, but they are estimated at tens of millions of dollars, and the numbers are doubling every minute.

Anabtawi held the Israeli occupation authorities accountable for all the damage to the Gaza Industrial City and the factories located in it, especially since all the factories are owned by businessmen who did not pose any threat or danger as the Israeli occupation claims. Not only that but also since the beginning of the aggression, these factories have not been able to operate due to the danger in the movement of its workers, wondering, “what justification is the Israeli occupation using to fabricate its aggression here?”

The largest in Palestine and the second in the Middle East

Gaza, 10 March 2021 

PADICO Holding launched the electric power generation from solar energy, which is considered the largest in Palestine and the second in the Middle East, project in Gaza Industrial City.

The project includes more than 21 thousand solar cells installed on 32 industrial buildings in Gaza Industrial City, with a production capacity of (7.3) megawatts, and a total value of about $12 million.

The project will provide electricity for all governmental factories and offices, international organizations and commercial facilities based in Gaza Industrial City.

The project was inaugurated Bashar Masri, PADICO Holding Chairman of BOD, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of National Economy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Investment Promotion and Industrial Cities Authority in Gaza, Dr. Rushdi Wadi, the Vice Chairman of the Energy Authority in Gaza, Eng. Samir Mutair, the Director General of the Electricity Distribution Company in the Governorates of Gaza, Engineer Maher Ayesh, and the Director of the Financing Project for Job Creation (F4J) Mazen Asaad, in addition to a number of businessmen in the Gaza Strip.

In this context, Masri affirmed the importance of the project in the enhancement of the economic structure of Gaza Strip, and its contribution to breaking the siege and alleviating the suffering of our people there, saying, “With God’s Will and everyone’s determination, Gaza will return as before and better, by creating job opportunities for young people, because our people have the right to work and live in freedom and dignity.”

Masri described the project as strategic and important, especially at this difficult time that the Palestinian economy is going through and the great deficit in the energy sector in Gaza, calling on investors and businessmen to increase investment in the beloved Gaza Strip as a promising area, in addition to its dire need for economic projects, especially those that affect the daily life aspects and today our people is in need to leadership decisions that ensure change and move the national economy engine quickly.

For his turn, Wadi said that Gaza Strip is suffering from a deficit in electric power by 50% because of the siege and restrictions imposed on the entry of fuel, the matter that causes an electricity crisis, as it only works for a maximum of 4-8 hours per day without regularity, which considerably impacted the private sector and economic facilities. This project is considered an ideal solution specifically for the Industrial City that regularly and permanently needs the availability of electricity.

Wadi praised Masri efforts for investing in most areas that actually need work, despite the fear of many businessmen from coming and investing their money there. Moreover, this national project opens the way for factories operating in Gaza Industrial City to increase their production capacity after electricity becomes permanently available without interruption and at a less cost, in addition to the opening of new factories.

For his part, Mutair said that this national project is in line with renewable energy efficiency and the Palestinian government’s direction, represented by the Energy Authority, to develop alternative energy sources and promote their use in all sectors, which contributes to reducing dependence on imported energy, achieving energy security, diversifying energy sources, sustainable development and protecting the environment.

Mutair stressed that this project, the first of its kind in Palestine, is an encouraging step for all private sector companies and potential investors in the energy sector, to contribute to solving the issue of the acute shortage of electric power in the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Asaad re-affirmed the importance of supporting investment projects and promoting investments of the private sector that generate new and sustainable job opportunities, within the innovative financial instrument “the Joint Financing Investment Fund”, which works to provide the required partial financing to enable investors to launch viable investments that have economic and social benefits, such as this project, which will have a positive role in providing more than 800 direct and indirect job opportunities in the Gaza Industrial Zone. This is in addition to its role in reducing demand for conventional energy and improving the distribution timetable, especially that the concentration of factories in the Gaza industrial zone will be on renewable energy.

Asaad pointed out that the financing project aims to create job opportunities and it is a project of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance and is implemented by the Developmental Alternatives Company (DAI) and with the World Bank.

For his part, PADICO Chairman of the Board of Directors (Gaza Industrial City Developer) Khaled Anabtawi, gave a brief explanation of the project and the steps that have been accomplished in it, especially the difficulties we faced in introducing materials and special solar cells in the construction of the project, but thanks to God and the efforts of everyone, we overcame that and were able to complete the project in record time.

He pointed out that it is expected that the rates of employment and productivity in Gaza Industrial City will rise with the increase in the number of factories as a result of the availability of a permanent and uninterrupted source of electricity, which means creating additional job opportunities for our people.