The Middle East Investor Relations Society launches the Palestine Chapter, the latest initiative to promote IR best practice in the Middle East

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Ramallah, Palestine, The Middle East Investor Relations Society (ME-IR Society) and a number of Palestinian companies following IR best practices met in Ramallah to agree an Investor Relations Charter.  The Charter will improve the quality of investor relations practices and educational resources in Palestine. The Charter also creates an informal supervisory Board of ME-IR Society member companies which will assist with the development of IR initiatives in Palestine.  The new Board consists of representatives from The Palestine Exchange (PEX); PADICO, PALTEL, Bank of Palestine, Jerusalem Pharmaceuticals; and Bank of New York Mellon.

 

The Charter was ratified by the inaugural Chairwoman of the Palestine Chapter, Fida Musleh/Azar – Manager of PEX Representative Office – Ramallah/ Manager of Public Relations and Investor Education Department and Maria Hunt, General Manager of the Middle East Investor Relations Society.

 

Ahmad Aweidah, CEO of the Palestine Exchange commented "Our role is not limited to listing, and disclosure only, it naturally extends towards creating a culture for constant and professional communications among all the Exchange’s community, especially at boosting IR best practices among publicly listed companies".

 

“Supporting and developing effective investor relations practices is essential for functioning capital markets’ said Ms. Azar. “The establishment of a Palestine Chapter of the ME-IR Society will provide support and guidelines for our listed companies looking to develop or build upon a successful IR function.”

 

Paul Reynolds, Chairman of the ME-IR Society and MD of Rothschild Middle East commented: “When the ME-IR Society was established in 2008 most MENA listed companies did not have a developed investor relations function. This is clearly changing as exchanges and regulators continually demand more effective communication between companies and investors”.

 

Tony Tooma, Head of Bank of New York Mellon's Depositary Receipt Relationship Management Team for the Middle East, said “BNY Mellon is proud to be a founding member of the ME-IR Society and initiatives such as this will work to ensure that companies in Palestine have access to the all of the resources and tools to implement IR best practices and make the issuers of Palestine more attractive to investors from around the world.”

 

Through the partnership, the Palestine Chapter of the ME-IR Society will organize workshops and host annual IR conferences as with its other chapters. ME-IR Society conferences typically discuss the practical and strategic challenges of operating dedicated IR departments whilst inviting members to discuss tools and solutions for effective investor relations. Ms. Huntsaid ‘We look forward to regularly organizing events so that companies in Palestine can hear perspectives and recommendations from market experts, analysts, investors, regulators and fund managers’.

 

ME-IR Society Certified Investor Relations Officer training courses will be announced in the coming weeks, along with literature explaining the role of the committee and joining details for companies in Palestine.