The General Assembly of the Palestine Development and Investment Company Ltd. (PADICO) held its twenty-eighth annual meeting, with the participation of shareholders holding 78.9% of the company's capital.

The meeting included the election of a new board of directors for the next session, as the new board consists of legal personalities and bodies that included Sabih Al-Masry and Bashar Masry, the “Masar” International Investment Company, the Arab Bank, Cairo Amman Bank, the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, Al-Maysarah Company, Al-Nawah Investment Management Company, and Siraj Fund 1, Palestine Technology Transfer Company, and Rawan International Investments Company.

During the meeting, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bashar Masri, presented the Board's report for the year 2022, highlighting the most important achievements and successes achieved by the company.

All topics on the agenda were discussed, as the General Assembly approved the administrative report, the financial statements, and the auditor's report for the fiscal year 2022, in addition to the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors, and the election of Ernst & Young as an auditor for the fiscal year 2023.

During the meeting, Masri said: "PADICO's business, its subsidiaries and allied companies, and its various investments have witnessed remarkable developments and achievements in various sectors, to continue to reap the efforts of the past years, in which it focused on restructuring some investments and subsidiaries and allied companies."

He added, "We, in PADICO, strive to complete a process full of work and giving towards achieving more successes and consolidating our excellence in the vital economic sectors and in the various governorates of Palestine, out of our belief in the need to do everything possible to bring about a real renaissance that contributes to supporting and strengthening the Palestinian economy."

With regard to financial performance, PADICO achieved significant growth in the year 2022, as the profit attributable to the company's shareholders increased from $21.1 million to $24.9 million, with a growth rate of 18%. The volume and value of trading and the number of transactions executed.

In response to some shareholders' questions about not distributing dividends, Masri said: "PADICO was established to lead long-term development investments in Palestine, and this requires that the company maintain a solid financial position and sufficient cash flows to enable it to achieve its investment goals in light of the challenges facing the Palestinian economy." Pointing out that the Board of Directors' orientation in the past years required focusing on enhancing investments and increasing the company's profits, which PADICO succeeded in through the stability and increase of its profits, in order to distribute sustainable profits to shareholders in the future.

In terms of the main developments that PADICO witnessed during the year 2022, Masri said: “The year 2022 was full of achievements and successes in all sectors in which the company is active and investing, starting with the communications and information technology sector and the real estate sector, which witnessed the largest activity during the year 2022, and the financial sector, to reach To the industrial and agricultural sector, the tourism sector, the infrastructure and energy sector, and the industrial cities sector.

He also pointed out that PADICO's decision to appoint Abdullah Sabat as its new CEO recently came to draw the features of the next phase, and is in line with the company's strategy based on investing in qualified Palestinian leaders and competencies capable of bringing about further development and growth in it.

Masri stressed that the company's durability and economic stability stem from the integrity of the wise directions and policies approved and led by the Board of Directors for many years with the support and confidence of shareholders, represented in controlling and rationalizing expenses and increasing the efficiency of operations and production, with the aim of strengthening the company's financial position and cash flows, and establishing its position at the forefront of investment companies. leading.