The Palestine Exchange (PEX) was established in 1995 as a private shareholding company to promote investment in Palestine, and was fully automated upon establishment—a first amongst the Arab stock exchanges. The first trading session was held on February 18, 1997. The PEX became a public shareholding company in February 2010, responding to principles of transparency and good governance and was listed on the exchange in April 2012. The PEX operates under the supervision of the Palestinian Capital Market Authority.