Saudis plan $ 200 mln WBank property venture
Reuters - 16 December, 2007
www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=366174&news_type=Economy&lang=en

Arab investors, led by Saudis, have signed a deal with the Palestinian
Authority to develop a $ 200 million West Bank real estate project in the
first such venture since recent peace moves, officials said on Saturday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said such deals by private Palestinian
and Gulf Arab investors will help rejuvenate the ailing economy, reeling
under tough Israeli constraints.

"We appreciate those investors who have come to invest in Palestine," Abbas
told investors and officials at the signing ceremony in Amman late on
Friday.

"If this illustrates anything it only shows the readiness of Arabs to help
support the Palestinians," he added. "We believe peace and stability will
draw more investments into Palestine and we see signs of more capital
flows."

The Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), the investment arm of the PA, owns a
fifty percent stake with Riyadh-based The Land Company in the $ 50 million
capitalised property firm set up to develop the multi-residential and
commercial venture near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Land Company is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Ahmad bin Sulaiman al
Rajhi group.

Said Bahjat Said, chairman of The Land Company, said construction will start
in early 2008 as part of several multi-million dollar schemes the Saudi
holding company was studying in Palestinian territories.

"We are not deterred by the difficult conditions and believe Palestine
offers many attractive opportunities for investors," Said said.

Private sector

Abbas, backed by Western donors, is pinning hopes on accelerated peace moves
with Israel to help improve the living conditions of Palestinians.

The PA adminstration has sought to woo businesses to bring badly needed
capital to create jobs and revive the local economy despite the constraints
of the Israeli occupation.

Mohammad Mustapha, the CEO of the PIF, said the project was one of several
strategic investments of the agency across cities in the West Bank that were
in the pipeline in partnership with Palestinian, Arab and foreign investors.

"We have ambitious projects to attract investors including real estate and
housing projects and they all depend on the private sector taking a key
role," Mustapha said.

"There is no way out of the economic impasse except by more private sector
involvement," he added.

Shukri Bishara, the chairman of PIF, said he hoped the landmark venture
would attract more Arab businessmen encouraged by a liberal
investor-friendly climate to undertake lucrative ventures even in a
difficult political environment.

"We hope to see more investors in our future projects to bring more Arab and
international investors to Palestine," he said.

The PIF's future strategy was to move more of its $ 850 worth of assets,
most of which were abroad, back to the territories, he added.

US-backed peace moves have revived hopes of some Jordanian and Palestinian
businessmen of investment opportunities, Some industrial projects put on
hold in recent years after peace talks stalled have been revived.