The Company is 48.5% owned by National Mobile Telecommunications Company (“NMTC”) of Kuwait which is 52.5% owned by Qatar Telecom (“Qtel”); 36.5% by the Palestinian Investment Fund (“PIF”) and the remaining 15% of the Company is publicly traded on the Palestinian Stock Exchange. Qatar Telecom (“Qtel”) has ultimate control of NMTC as a result of its 52.5% shareholding therein; 24% of NMTC is owned by the Government of Kuwait and 23.5% is publicly traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Qtel is a multinational telecom operator based in Qatar with operations in 16 countries and with a customer base of over 82 million. The State of Qatar owns 55% of Qtel, and approximately 22% of Qtel’s shares are publicly traded on the Doha Stock Exchange. PIF is a Palestinian state owned investment fund with over $850 million under management.

The total project cost is estimated at US$408 million equivalent, which will include capital expenditures, license payments, loan repayment and financing costs. The proposed IFC investment is a US$50 million A Loan for IFC’s own account. IFC will also assist in arranging US$75 million with a combination of parallel loans from local and regional banks and/or IFC B loan.

50.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	50.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Financing amount will be spent for capital expenditures related to 2G network expansion and 3G network rollout in the West Bank and Gaza, repayment of the outstanding loans and interest expense on the new and oustanding loans, and payment of the license fee obligation to the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technologies (“MTIT”).

The Project will have the following development impacts:
- Improve access to telecommunications services: The Project will improve the availability of reliable and affordable communications for consumers and businesses in the West Bank and Gaza. Access to reliable, high quality voice and data services is key for economic activity and for personal and family lives, especially given the many restrictions on mobility currently in place throughout the territories.
- Spur competition: Mobile sector in West Bank and Gaza is highly dominated by the incumbent operator. As the Company will expand in the market, it is expected to improve the quality, coverage and cost for the mobile users.
- Increased employment: The Project will create quality employment opportunities at both the Company and the distributor level in the West Bank and Gaza, which suffer from 15% and 26% unemployment rates respectively. The Company has approximately 410 employees as of December 31, 2011 in the West Bank and plans to hire an additional 160 in Gaza, by the end of 2013.

West Bank and Gaza''s infrastructure have been significantly impacted by decades of physical and political conflict. The Palestinian people are also subjected to significant restrictions on movement both within the Palestinian Territories and outside. The telecom sector provides a key service to the Palestinian people in communicating with each other and the world, reducing some of the affects of the physical restrictions on movement. Although the telecom sector has become more competitive, penetration rates and costs still lag the broader region. IFC leadership role in the proposed investment will facilitate the private investment flow to support a key communication infrastructure in a priority conflict-affected area.
IFC''s additionality in the proposed investment will be as follows:
- Mobilization of international capital: As a global coordinator and co-arranger for the Company''s financing package, IFC will assist Wataniya Palestine in mobilizing up to US$75 million of financing from regional and international commercial banks through an IFC B Loan and from local banks through agented parallel loans.
- Long term financing that provides the Company with greater operational flexibility: Long-term project funding is limited in the Palestinian Territories. IFC''s extension of long term debt is critical for WPT given: (i) the sizeable capital expenditures that are required for the network rollout; and (ii) the longer payback periods.

Environmental and social risks and impacts in this project are expected to be limited, so the project is classified as Category B according to IFC''s environmental and social review procedure.