Ramallah - Together - The General Authority of the Palestine Stock Exchange held its fourteenth annual meeting, to discuss and approve the topics on the agenda, in the presence of the representative of the Registrar of Companies at the Ministry of National Economy, Bilal Kataneh, the external auditor, Abdul Karim Mahmoud, representing Ernst and Young, and the legal advisor, Mr. Haitham Al-Zoubi and Samer Al-Kakhan, representing the Capital Market Authority. Through the platform of the General Authority, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Stock Exchange, Mr. Samir Hulileh, expressed what the Palestinian economy has suffered, especially since the last quarter of the fiscal year 2023 until this moment, which in turn has sharply affected the performance of various economic and operational sectors, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, adding that Listed companies were not immune to this exceptional situation, which became clear through their preliminary financial statements for the resul ts of the year 2023, as the profits of listed companies according to these statements amounted to approximately 155 million dollars, a decrease of 60% compared to the previous year, a number that was not recorded. On the Palestine Stock Exchange for more than 10 years, indicating that we are awaiting somewhat harsh results in the same context for the first quarter of the year 2024, due to the continuation of the aggression. He pointed out, "This situation did not affect at all the commitment of profitable companies to their shareholders, as dividends are still strongly present in many of the recommendations of the general bodies of listed companies, and we at the Palestine Stock Exchange will work hard to continue the process of progress and growth, despite the serious challenges, and to These include poor market liquidity and accumulated losses as a result of the aggression. The General Assembly approved the Board of Directors' report and financial statements, and the members of the Board of Directors were discharged from their liabilities for the fiscal year 2023, in addition to re-electing Ernst and Young to audit the stock exchange's accounts for the fiscal year 2024. It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange was established in 1995 as a private joint stock company, and in 2012 it was listed for trading after it was transformed into a public joint stock company. The Stock Exchange seeks to be a local financial market with international standards, in light of providing innovative services to customers through a trading environment characterized by fairness, transparency and safety. It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange is listed in the most important global financial indices: within the frontier markets 'Frontier Markets' and 'FTSE Global Financial Times' and within an independent index for 'Palestine' in both Morgan Stanley and Standard and Poor's. Source: Maan News Agency