Main reports:Palestine recorded a trade deficit of $1.17bn in Q1 2016 .
Al-Haditha, a Jordan- based cement company, has recently finalised procedures for compatibility with the Israeli standards of import.
Al-Safa, a new Palestinian Islamic bank, is set to open in Palestine later this year.
At the end of Q1 2016, the stock of investments of Palestinian residents outside Palestine (total external assets) exceeded investments of non- residents in Palestine (total foreign liabilities) by $906m.