dr.Adnan Qubbaja

The study deal with the subject of the profitability and liquidity of companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange in light of the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the study aimed to verify whether or not there is an impact of the pandemic on the profitability and liquidity of the companies under study by addressing the main problem about knowing the extent to which the various sectors listed in the market are affected by the pandemic. The descriptive approach was adopted for the theoretical aspect, while for the practical side, the earnings per share were adopted as an indicator of liquidity and profitability and were extracted from the financial statements of companies that have been published on the website of the Palestine Stock Exchange. The study was able to include (25) companies from different sectors for which data was available; after collecting and analyzing data and testing the two hypotheses of the study, the study reached a number of conclusions, the most import...

The Study examines the Impact of Corporate Governance Quality on the cost of equity capital of Palestinian listed firms over the period of (2010-2016) Corporate Governance Quality  measured by examining the extent of compliance with corporate Governance " best Practices , cost of equity calculated using the capital asset pricing model "CAPM" approach . A total of 19 listed companies were investigated to analyze the relationship between the two variables for the period "2010-2016"Using regression technique, this study finds that corporate governance quality has a reducing effect on cost of equity capital. Keywords : Corporate governance quality, cost of capital, cost of equity , Palestine Exchange.

The study aimed at identifying the impact of innovation on achieving the competitive advantage in industrial companies operating in Hebron governorate, the study adopted the descriptive-analytical method for research purposes. The target population consisted of all industrial companies operating in Hebron governorate, Purposive sample of directors, board members, companies directors, heads and directors of departments in industrial companies, ( 80 ) questionnaires were distributed, (70) questionnaires returned for analysis, the study found 82.7% of the variation in competitive advantage is due to innovation in the companies under research, and that the increase of one unit of innovation in the field of the product has led to an increase in competitive advantage by 75.2% of this unit, and that the increase of one unit of innovation in the field of operation has led to An increase in competitive advantage by 83.3% of this unit. The study recommended that companies need to increase att...

The study aimed at identifying the impact of innovation on achieving the competitive advantage in industrial companies operating in Hebron governorate, the study adopted the descriptive-analytical method for research purposes. The target population consisted of all industrial companies operating in Hebron governorate, Purposive sample of directors, board members, companies directors, heads and directors of departments in industrial companies, ( 80 ) questionnaires were distributed, (70) questionnaires returned for analysis, the study found 82.7% of the variation in competitive advantage is due to innovation in the companies under research, and that the increase of one unit of innovation in the field of the product has led to an increase in competitive advantage by 75.2% of this unit, and that the increase of one unit of innovation in the field of operation has led to An increase in competitive advantage by 83.3% of this unit. The study recommended that companies need to increase att...

This paper examined the accounting practices of SMEs drawing on a survey of 100 SMEs in Palestine. The results revealed that majority of SMEs failed to keep proper accounting records pertaining to their businesses. Consequently, it was difficult for the owner-managers to determine the profit earned or loss suffered in the business during a particular accounting .The major reasons for the entities failure to maintain proper accounting records and prepare a complete set of financial statements included inability to prepare financial reports as a result of poor records keeping, Lack of skills, inability to prepare financial Reports, Distrustful attitude of owner /manager, Cost of hiring qualified employees, finally fear to disclose all information to government. It is recommended that training programs must be organized to sensitize owners/managers on the need to maintain proper books of accounts. The government should also come out with the necessary legal instruments to make the prep...

Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) have
always remained the engine for economic
growth and development in all countries of
the world where it accounts for the highest
percentage among all kinds of economic
projects of all sizes. In Palestine( SME’s)
sector constitutes more than 95 percent of
the Palestinian economy. Despite their
importance, Access to finance is one of the  principal barriers to realizing economic potential faced by
these enterprises. The purpose of this study was to determine
Obstacles and  Challenges that influence (SME’s) access to
financing in Palestine. 110 questionnaires were distributed to
a sample of (SME’s) in Palestine, who have already
succeeded in obtaining a loan by microfinance institutions .a
set of results havebeen reached and are summarized as
follows : Insufficient amount of funding of these enterprises,
Militancy in demanding guarantees in return for grantingthe
loans.The high interest rates of these loans were the most
important challenges faced by entrepreneurs of the study
sample.The study recommended the need by microfinance
institutions to provide the full amount of funding required to
ensure the success of the project and the payment of loan
installments, and the necessity of activating the role of
government in guaranteeing by establishing a special body
for the purpose, the study also recommended the need for
commercial banks to establish special fund for micro financing at low
interest rate.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of collateral requirement, Business support services, High interest on loans, and lack of Information services on access to finance by Women-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises in Palestine , A structured questionnaire was administered on a random sample population of Women-Owned SMEs Enterprises in Hebron and Bethlehem , Out of the 60 questionnaires administered, 54 were filled and returned. This represented a response rate of 90%. Data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science(SPSS). Questionnaires were administered on the owners of these SMEs and/ or representatives. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish the effects of the market constraints on access to finance by Women-Owned SMEs Enterprises in Palestine. The study indicated that there is a negative correlation between collateral requirements, , High interest on loans, lack of Information services and access to finance by SMEs in Palestine, while there is a positive correlation between Business support services and access to finance SMEs in Palestine. Regression analysis showed that variation in access to finance by SMEs can be explained by collateral requirement, Business support services, High interest on loans, and lack of Information services. The study recommended that, financial institutions should simplify their lending criteria and pay attention to opportunities for financing the promising SME sector rather than requiring high collateral ,Government should increase the little support it offers to SMEs, government should launch interest rate-supported programs to enable SMEs access to funds from banks and other financial institutions at low interest rates, increasing the number of intermediaries between the SMEs and the banks to reduce information asymmetry. 1. Introduction Small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) have an important contribution in creating inclusive opportunities for women. women-owned SMEs comprise 30 to 37 percent of all SMEs in emerging markets, totaling about 8 to 10 million ,women-owned SMEs are fewer in MENA, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. Within size class, women own smaller enterprises, and about 20 percent of medium-sized enterprises. Further, a majority of women-owned SMEs are in the retail and wholesale sector (about 40 percent). Data suggest that employment in women-owned SMEs is not necessarily higher than in those owned by men (world Bank, 2016) According to the(World Bank ,2014) women make up 40% of the world's workforce. It is noted that many of the sectors that are critical for economic growth in some of the developing countries depend heavily on women. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with female ownership represent 30% to 37 % of all SMEs (8 million to 10 million women-owned firms) in emerging markets. These businesses have unmet financial needs of between US$260 billion and US$320 billion a year. ` The challenge of access to finance for women-owned SME is even bigger. These SMEs are more likely to cite access to finance constraints as the first or second barrier to business than their male counterparts. Data on availability of finance to women-owned enterprises indicates that close to 70 percent of women-owned SMEs are unserved or underserved leading to a credit gap of about USD 287 billion, or about 30 percent of the total (IFC 2014). According to an IFC report, women-owned businesses attract less than 5 percent of venture capital funding, even though their requirements for starts up are similar. Yet IFC research indicates that female borrowers have a stronger repayment history and present greater potential for cross sales compared to male entrepreneurs, making them roughly twice as profitable for banks as a consumer segment. A research by the US Small Business Administration indicates that firms that invest in women-owned businesses have higher returns on their investments (Businesswomen Network Report,2016) The estimated population of Palestine at 2017 was about 4.70 million, divided into 2.39 million males and 2.31 million females. That means about 50% of the total populations are women (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017). unemployment rate in the Palestine has reached a new high. It peaked at 32.4 percent in the second quarter of 2018, which is about 5 percentage points higher than its average in 2017 and the highest rate in two decades. The increase is due to a large jump in Gaza, where 53.7 percent of those in the labor force were unemployed in the second quarter of 2018. Unemployment amongst Gaza's youth exceeded 70 percent while it was even higher for females, amounting to 78 percent in the second quarter of 2018 The situation in the West Bank has been very different with the unemployment rate remaining stable at around 18-19 percent over recent

The Study examines the Impact of Corporate Governance Quality on the cost of equity capital of Palestinian listed firms over the period of (2010-2016) Corporate Governance Quality measured by examining the extent of compliance with corporate Governance " best Practices , cost of equity calculated using the capital asset pricing model "CAPM" approach. A total of 19 listed companies were investigated to analyze the relationship between the two variables for the period "2010-2016"Using regression technique, this study finds that corporate governance quality has a reducing effect on cost of equity capital.

Corporate Governance plays an important role in increasing the
competitiveness of shareholding companies through enhancing
transparency, improving corporate management, ensuring the
formulation of appropriate strategic decisions and ensuring fair
treatment of shareholders, personnel, creditors and other
stakeholders. Hence, reflecting on the decrease of funding costs and
improving financial performance. On the macro level, corporate
governance contributes in reassuring investors, and providing a
suitable environment with acceptable earnings and risks, therefore
enhancing the economy’s ability to attract local and foreign
investments.
This study measures Palestinian public shareholding companies’
adherence to corporate governance principles, as issued by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
the study aims to analyze the impact of such practices on corporate
financial performance and recommends some policies related to the
companies per se and others to providing competent Palestinian
authorities with the bases of proper governance procedures and the
establishment of a comprehensive Palestinian governance system.
We hope that the analyses and recommendations will increase the
competitiveness of these companies and help all stakeholders make
sound investment, credit, service, administrative and financial
decisions on the short and long runs.