What are the main investment areas in Palestine?

Against all odds, Palestine is still a place where investors can find profitable opportunities. A report by the World Bank about the economic situation in Palestine explained that following robust growth in previous years, economic activity in Palestine has been on a downward path since 2012.

Growth over the last few years has mainly been driven by large inflows of donor aid that has enabled the expansion of the public sector, resulting in consumption driven growth. Decomposition of recent growth trends indicates that the contribution of government-funded services to the economy has been on the rise, while the share of trade sectors has declined, mainly due to the ongoing Israeli restrictions on movement, trade, and access to Area C. Two studies were conducted regarding the potential for investment in Palestine «A Palestinian Private Sector Initiative for Investment, Growth and Employment « published by Portland Trust, and more recently, «The Initiative for the Palestinian Economy» by The Office of the Quartet in Jerusalem.

Palestine’s population reached 4.17 million: 2.58 million in the West Bank and 1.59 million in the Gaza Strip. In In 3Q2013, Palestinian GDP was 2.6% higher than in In 3Q2012 in real terms, but decreased by 1.3% with respect to the previous quarter. In 2012, unemployment amongst young people reached 39%.

Main potential investment areas:

• Tourism
• Light manufacturing
• Information communication technology
• IT & Digital Entrepreneurship
• Agriculture
• Energy
• Construction (see our special report in this issue)
• Building materials
• Water
• Agriculture