In Conclusion of the Fourth Annual Palestinian Capital Market Forum: Speakers Emphasize on Governance, Disclosure and Effective Investor Relations to Attract Additional Investors and Preserve the Good Standing of the Palestine Exchange

RAMALLAH, Palestine, November 15, 2010 - The Palestine Exchange (www.pex.ps) concluded its
Fourth Annual Palestinian Capital Market Forum which was held in Ramallah on
the West Bank last week with a host of recommendations designed to enhance
the good achievements of the Exchange to date and help it attract more
investors, through improving communications function of listed companies with
the wider investor community both locally and abroad.

The conference was opened by a key note speech by Prime
Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, who gave unequivocal support to private sector
investments and the role the Palestine Exchange is playing as a vehicle for
investors to trade in and raise capital. The Prime Minister pledged to work
with the Exchange to enhance the investment environment in Palestine to keep
the Palestinian market attractive to foreign investments both in the capital
markets and private equity. The Prime Minister promised to work harder to
reduce dependency on Donor aid, by virtue of reducing budget expenses and
increasing investments he stated that to achieve this, the country needs a
working Exchange and a modern capital markets regime.

The Forum concluded its deliberations by recommending a host
of policy and practical steps designed to enhance the level of governance,
disclosure and reporting at the Exchange by listed companies.

Reading the Forum's recommendations, Mr. Ahmad Aweidah, CEO of
the Palestine Exchange, reiterated the importance of Investor Relations in
the Palestinian financial market. He added that "Investors and the
professional investment community are becoming more sophisticated and expect
to receive constant information and updates from the companies and in real
time to make correct investment decisions." He also said "that listed
companies need to communicate real information and as candidly and
transparently as possible especially at times of crisis in order to allow
investors and analysts to get a fair assessment of the company's value. It is
a constant flow of information, so the function of Investor Relations is a
key one to help investors better grasp any information even if it is
negative. The onus is communicating and doing it within the parameters of
best practice," added Mr. Aweidah.

The Forum ended its deliberations with a host of
recommendations aimed at boosting the value and proposition of investors
relations in Palestine. Principles of these recommendations were: importance
of establishing professional Investor Relations Departments at all listed
companies; a step that would ensure constant flow of information, and
additional adherence to disclosure and transparency. The recommendations also
stressed the importance of capacity building for the IR personnel to remain
at par with international best practice with a focus on coordination among
these professionals to help lay ground work for effective transfer of
information. An Arabic language booklet on the principles of IR was
recommended to serve as an information tool kit to help lay the ground work
for this function. Governance and disclosures were encouraged to grow in
weight in order to help listed companies communicate effectively in good
times and bad times with the entire stakeholder environment from the
investors, to analysts and fund managers. The Forum also encouraged listed
companies to communicate with transparency at times of crisis, projecting the
future outlook and having crisis management plans in their IR functions as a
cushioning strategy.

The Palestine Exchange was encouraged to follow up on these
recommendations, and to act as a constant source of information and guidance
on the subject matter of Investor Relations as an entity that has imbedded in
the past the importance of governance, disclosure and reporting in a bid to
help the companies become more plugged in the investors scene, more
transparent; supporting their ability to have proper valuation of their stock
and financial performance. Road Shows and communication via financial media
was equally encouraged as an important tool to keep telling the story of the
exchange and the listed companies in a bid to attract new investors and
dispel any misperceptions or false information.

The Palestine Exchange remains the first doorstep to a
Palestine of Opportunities.

For more information on the Palestine Exchange visit:
www.pex.ps

To view presentations of speakers at the Fourth Annual Capital
Market Forum in Palestine, please visit forum website (
www.pex.ps/forum) on the following link:

www.pex.ps/Forum/PubModule/ViewPublications.aspx?PageName=Publica
tions&lang=en

(Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste
this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the
space if one exists.)

For media inquiries contact:

    Fida' Musleh Azar
    Head of Public Relations & Investor Education
    Tel: +970(or 972)2-2403903
    Mobile: +970(or 972)599-828-608
    Email: fida.azar@pex.ps
    www.pex.ps

    Ola Sawaftah Abu Rub
    Media Monitoring Supervisor
    Tel: +970(or 972)2-2-2409105/7
    Email:ola@ellamtam.com
    www.ellamtam.com

For media inquiries contact: Fida' Musleh Azar, Head of Public Relations & Investor Education, Tel: +970(or 972)2-2403903, Mobile: +970(or 972)599-828-608, Email: fida.azar at pex.ps; Ola Sawaftah Abu Rub, Media Monitoring Supervisor, Tel: +970(or 972)2-2-2409105/7, Email:ola at ellamtam.com