| Headline: Buying the peace story Source: Euromoney Date: September 2000 Author: Rupert Wright Emerging markets may be back in favour but few investment markets are as exotic as Palestine. Delayed peace talks, trouble in the Golan Heights, terrorist activities: investing in the country is probably not for widows, orphans, or those of a nervous disposition. Political risk has existed in the country since Biblical times; not even Bill Clinton has been able to solve it in two weeks. But just as Beirut’s rebuilding is probably the most unlikely economic success story of the last Five years, some investors are betting that its troubled neighbour in the Levant will yield equally good results. Initial signs are good: the Palestine Securities Exchange is up 16% this year, making it one of the best-performing stock markets in the Middle East. The signing of the Oslo Agreement in 1993 was a breakthrough in the peace process though change has been gradual rather than immediate. Israel has withdrawn its forces from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank but the economic activity in these areas has been disappointing. |