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Samir Hleileh.. The Chief Executive of PADICO: The company is restructuring and integrating its companies to meet the current and projected economic challenges

2009-03-10
Ramallah - from Maher Al-Sheikh and Mohammad Abu Khudair - Samir Hleileh the Chief Executive Officer of Palestine Development and Investment (PADICO) announced that the company is intending restructuring and integration of its affiliates and allies to be ready to face the ahead and projected economic challenges for the coming years. Hleileh said in a meeting organized by the Journalists Club yesterday evening "This year is the year of change and we should be pioneers in research for investment opportunities in new investment sectors and adapt to the effects of global crisis within costs and expenses reduction and combine our efforts better in PADICO group, and we hope in the General Assembly for PADICO that will be held in 9/5 of this year that we have a set of conclusions, proposals and draft resolutions that will present to open the door better years in the present and the future". And added "There are major important steps for 2009 and 2010, and a new working method and this will not succeed without association with the restructuring of the company including staff training and administrative and financial systems and their relationship to affiliated companies and there are a large number of advisers working with us on this subject to be applicable before the end of this year". Hleileh said "we have promised before about 7-8 months with changes in the years 2008-2009, not only because the result of the global crisis or PADICO profits, but in the particular structure of the company and the nature of its investments and its relationship with the allies of the companies and the nature of their investment and presence in Palestine". He said "the company was founded in 1993 due to a convince within the investors to build the country"s economy on a solid foundation". Hleileh said that "since year 99 - So far there is no new quality additions to the companies of PADICO but there was a partial investment in some companies, although there is security stability in the country despite the absence of political stability, but at least we ended a difficult stage in the years 2001 to 2005 from the Israeli army that was attacking the cities in a case of war to a relative stability even with the presence of the Hamas government in Gaza and the international boycott, but PADICO can co-exist with the political situation in Palestine and always trying to find new areas for investment and lay a basis for large promising companies in the Palestinian economy". Hleileh believes that the first move  was working within the months 5, 6 and 7 of 2008 which was the first step that helped PADICO in the face of the economic crisis without significant losses, a move to separate the portfolios among the direct investments in the months 7 and 8, led to the liquefaction of a large part of the portfolio invested outside of Palestine and made the impact of global crisis and the crisis in financial markets in the Arab Markets in the third and fourth quarter and even the first quarter of this year less than we expected, meaning that the overall losses of the company in their portfolios during 2008 amounted to 8 million dollars and if we did not take this step in the month of 7, losses will be bigger than this" and said "This part we did at an early stage before the global crisis not because we were informed of the arrival of this crisis, but because of separation of financial direct investment off our portfolios because of our desire to provide liquidity to start a new companies and expand our existing investments.