Mohammad Mustafa (economist)

Mohammad Mustafa (born 26 August 1954) is the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF),^[1] and the former Minister of National Economy and former Deputy Prime Minister of Palestine.^[2]

Early life

Mustafa was born on 26 August 1954 in Kafr Sur. He holds a BSc from Baghdad University, and a master's and PhD from George Washington University.^[3]

Career

Mustafa is currently chairman of the Palestine Investment. In the Palestinian Government No 15; Mustafa served as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and in Government No 16; he served as Deputy PM and Minister of National Economy.^[4]

Prior to that, Mustafa served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF). Under his leadership, the Fund has become the premier investor in Palestine^[5] and was able to achieve outstanding financial results. He led the launching of several leading national companies like Wataniya^[6] Mobile, Amaar^[7] Real Estahe Investment Company, Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company, Palestine Power Generation Company, Khazanah Asset Management Company, and Sharakat Fund for Small businesses.

Prior to joining PIF, Mustafa had extensive international experience and tenure with leading international organizations and in different regional and global markets. He worked at the World Bank HQ (Washington DC) for a period of 15 years, where he held senior positions across several sectors including: economic development and reform, project finance, private sector development, and infrastructure development. Other senior positions previously held by Mustafa include: Economic Adviser to the Government of Kuwait on economic reform, Adviser to the Public Investment Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Visiting professor at George Washington University, and the founding CEO of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel).

He serves as the founding chief executive officer (CEO) of PalTel and has been the chairman and co-president of Palestine Investment Fund since January 2009.^[8]

He has been named in the Panama Papers.^[9] The name of Dr. Mohammad Mustafa was mentioned in the Panama papers in relation to his capacity as a Director of the Arab Palestinian Investment Company APIC.^[10]

A major shareholder in APIC is the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), which is the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Palestine. PIF has a developmental and investment role through its activities in telecom, banking, real estate, energy and other investments, and routinely buys shares in publicly listed companies, including APIC. PIF owns 20.2% share of APIC, same as it owns in other Palestinian companies. (^[11])

Since PIF is a major shareholder of APIC, it has representatives on APIC’s Board of Directors including Dr. Mohammad Mustafa. APIC's Board of Directors is elected by its general assembly that represents all its shareholders. Board names are announced in formal disclosures and are published on APIC’s website (www.apic.ps) as well as in its publications. This complies with all laws, regulations and instructions of regulators including Palestine Stock Exchange and the Palestine Capital Markets Authority. It should be noted that Dr. Mustafa resigned from APIC's Board of Directors upon his assignment as minister in the Palestinian cabinet, then resumed his position as member of the board of APIC representing PIF once he resigned from his ministerial position.^[12]

References