Category: Business & Finance

Davos, Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh said that Jordan believes that finding solutions to the unprecedented challenges posed by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic during the past three years and the Ukrainian-Russian crisis can be achieved by strengthening cooperation and collective action between countries of the region and the world.

During his participation in a session on Arab Economies Converging within the World Economic Forum Davos 2023, along with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Khasawneh said that Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah focuses on enhancing its economic cooperation and integration with brotherly Arab countries.

In this regard, Khasawneh referred to the trilateral cooperation mechanism between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, which came with an idea from His Majesty King Abdullah to enhance economic cooperation between the three countries, link the interests of countries and build on the competitive advantages of these countries to benefit them and their people.

He spoke about the periodic meetings that are held at the leadership level in Jordan, Egypt and Iraq to determine work priorities and proposed projects for implementation within their framework. He added that the mechanism enjoys flexibility and is open to those who wish to join it from brotherly countries.

Khasawneh referred to the industrial city project on the border between Jordan and Iraq, and the project to extend the oil pipeline from Basra to Aqaba and then to Egypt, stressing the importance of these two projects for the three countries to achieve economic and industrial integration.

The Prime Minister mentioned the industrial integration initiative between Jordan, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, which aims to boost the partnership and benefit from their capabilities and expertise in developing competitive industries of a high level, and developing more joint industrial projects.

Khasawneh said that the volume of inter-Arab trade is still low and below the level of ambitions, adding that despite the existence of a free trade agreement between Arab countries, the volume of intra-trade between them does not exceed 13 per cent of the volume of their trade with the world.

The Prime Minister indicated that Jordan seeks to be a regional hub for renewable energy, green energy, green hydrogen, tourism and medical tourism.

Source: Jordan News Agency

He stressed that Jordan has achieved significant successes in providing the necessary financing for emerging and small projects through the Central Bank and financing institutions.

“We have human forces capable of achieving growth and success locally and abroad,” Khasawneh added.

He said that the Jordanian manpower enjoys expertise in the fields of creative industries, electronic games and other fields that provide job opportunities and constitute an added value to the national economy, noting that Jordanian pharmaceutical companies have a wide spread footprint at the global level.

Khasawneh spoke about the successes achieved by the Jordanian economy at the macro level, as the inflation rate is 4.2 per cent, which is a low rate compared to other countries, even those that have natural resources.

He added that many international credit rating institutions have raised Jordan’s credit rating, which confirms the confidence in the Jordanian economy and its progress in the right track towards economic recovery.

During the session, which was moderated by Zeina Soufan, a journalist specialized in economic affairs at Al-Sharq News Channel, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid spoke about the reforms that Iraq is implementing in many fields and Iraq’s vision for cooperation with neighboring countries.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Minister of Finance, Mohamad Al-Ississ, said Jordan is taking “serious” steps to stimulate investment, facilitate the investor transactions and maintain the legislative stability of the investment environment.

In remarks on the sidelines of his participation in World Economic Forum 2023 Davos, he noted Jordan’s delegation participating in the forum, headed by Prime Minister, places the investment file on the top of its priorities by talking with a large number of international investors.

The current situation in which the world is witnessing instability represents a “serious” opportunity to Jordan to attract investments that pursue financial and monetary stability, he noted.

In addition, he said Jordan’s financial stability in light of a global situation in which financial and monetary stability is absent constitutes a “true” opportunity for investments looking for a “good” equation between profit and global economic challenges.

The government, he said, presented a budget that maintains and raises capital spending to stimulate investment activity in the Kingdom while maintaining the government’s commitment to keep taxes unchanged.

He noted economic challenge is global, adding that Jordan’s economy is part of this process.

Stagnation and inflation that the world is witnessing is an opportunity to Jordan, as the Kingdom is one of the few countries in the world to maintain monetary stability, according to testament of major international institutions and houses of financial expertise, he said.

In this regard, he announced the government has allocated JD1.6 billion as capital spending, and will work to reduce the primary deficit from 3.4%, as estimated in 2022, to reach 2.9% in 2023.

Public debt, he said, will also be reduced as a percentage of GDP for the third year in a row, despite the government’s commitment to keep taxes unchanged due to the policy adopted by the government to fight tax evasion to achieve tax justice for citizens and stay away from consumer taxes.

Source: Jordan News Agency

PM Khasawneh also held a meeting with Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi.

The PM said Jordan welcomes more Emirati investments in the Kingdom, expressing the government’s keenness to follow up on completion of the investment projects implemented by ADQ in Jordan and remove any obstacles that hinder their implementation.

PM presented the key measures taken by Jordan to enhance the investment climate and remove obstacles and challenges facing the investor environment.

In this regard, he pointed to the establishment of the Ministry of Investment and endorsement of Jordan’s new investment environment law, which unified investment references and removed multiple bureaucratic obstacles, which contribute to attracting local and foreign investments and enabling those already launched.

In addition, the PM met with Indian businessman Gautam Adani, Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group, one of the largest international companies.

During the meeting, which was attended by Minister of Finance Mohammad Al-Issis, Khasawneh highlighted Jordan’s “attractive” investment environment, which aims to attract more foreign investments and enable existing ones, welcoming the group’s investments in the major projects that Jordan intends to implement.

PM also expressed Jordan’s readiness to be a regional center for launching the group’s business and investments in the region’s markets.

For his part, Adani affirmed his group’s interest in investing in Jordan in more than one sector, in light of the Kingdom’s available ” promising” investment prospects.

The two sides also agreed during the meeting to exchange visits between Jordanian government officials and the group to discuss available investment opportunities.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Jordan’s environment minister and Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer) CEO Wednesday held talks in Abu Dhabi on cooperation in environmental protection and waste management and recycling.

The meeting noted the “necessity” of enhancing cooperation and coordination on environmental protection, benefiting from the experiences and competencies of both sides and drumming the efforts by leveraging the latest technologies.

Environment Minister Muawiya Radaydah’s meeting with the Tadweer CEO Nasser Aldueb during a visit to Abu Dhabi to attend the Sustainability Conference that is part of the EcoWaste Exhibition and Forum 2023, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) agreed with the Jordanian energy ministry to soon embark on a wind power production project at a capacity of 2 gigawatts, the company’s Asset Management head Ali Buhaji announced Tuesday.

Under an agreement signed on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), Jordan and the United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding to explore renewable energy projects and information and technology exchange in green energy fields.

Buhaji affirmed his company’s commitment to boosting cooperation with Jordan in sustainable energy, pointing to the Kingdom’s strategic location as a leading investment destination.

Masdar’s $500 million investments in Jordan started in 2015 with the Tafila Wind Farm, contributing 117 megawatts, 3 percent of Jordan’s total energy capacity, as well as the Baynouna Solar Power Plant, the largest solar power project in Jordan generating 563 gigawatts annually (4 percent of the annual power consumption), added Buhaji.

Jordan seeks to raise its sustainable electricity generation to about 50 percent by 2030, with 29 percent of electricity currently generated from renewables.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Economic Modernization Vision’s executive program has outlined 12 initiatives and 54 priorities for energy and water sectors, worth JD688 million for the 2023-2025 period.

The initiatives include reviewing the fuel pricing mechanism, shifting towards smart grids, building electrical interconnection projects with neighboring countries, prospecting for mineral resources, establishing the National Water Carrier Project, and increasing the Kingdom’s strategic reserve of water.

Moreover, the clean-energy transition initiative will focus on updating the mineral resources strategy, and will work on drawing a road map for the use and the production of hydrogen, studying the transition towards electric transportation, and completing the economic feasibility studies for the green hydrogen and green ammonia production project.

To enhance the energy efficiency, the initiatives will embrace policies to reduce the cost of the electrical system, such as time-related tariffs. In addition, solar heater systems will be installed for several governmental and military hospitals, municipalities, and impoverished households.

In efforts to reduce the costs of energy supply, a financial sustainability plan will be developed, in line with the gradual shift towards smart grids, and supplying the industrial cities with natural gas.

As for the energy infrastructure development initiative, the focus will be on implementing the Jordanian-Iraqi electricity interconnection project, raising the electric capacity between Jordan and Egypt to 1100 megawatts, and choosing the best model for the Jordanian-Saudi interconnection project. Also, the fourth expansion project of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company will be tackled, along with a project to connect cities and industrial areas to natural gas networks.

The initiatives will also address Jordan’s electricity linkage with neighboring countries, developing the capacity of the Aqaba oil terminal, sealing an investment agreement for the liquefied petroleum gas storage project, and considering the generating capacity of renewable energy and green energy.

Concerning the water sector, the initiatives will focus on reducing water losses by implementing a water loss strategy meant to reduce losses by 2 percent per year. Meanwhile, the initiatives will build distribution networks and dams, and will work on finding new sources of water in order to improve the water supply.

In addition, a plan for the financial sustainability of the water sector will be implemented, including exposing violations on water pipelines and networks, and monitoring groundwater resources

Source: Jordan News Agency

Projects worth JD1.1 billion have leveraged the Investment Law in 2022, signaling an increase of 79.3 percent from the JD621 million reported in 2021, according to the Ministry of Investment.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry pointed out that a total of 434 investment projects, which were expected to create about 21,000 job opportunities, have registered with the ministry to benefit from the law, with the industry sector taking the lion’s share of overall investments with JD648.6 million, or 58.3 percent, followed by the tourism sector with JD233 million, or 21 percent, the hospitals and medical centers sector with JD136 million, or 12.3 percent, the information technology sector with JD55.5 million, or 5 percent, and the agriculture sector with JD37.8 million, or 3.4 percent.

On domestic and foreign investment in the last year, the ministry indicated that domestic investments have spiked by 79.9 percent to reach JD976.3 million, while foreign investments have hiked by a whopping 98.3 percent amounting to JD137 million.

On the distribution of investments outside and within the development zones, the ministry said that 363 projects were implemented outside development zones with an investment volume of about JD1.1 billion, or 94.4 percent of the overall investments, while 71 projects were carried out inside development zones with an investment volume of about JD62 million, or 5.6 percent of the overall investments.

The ministry described the increase in investments as an indicator of economic recovery, adding that the law came in response to government measures to create an investment-friendly environment to encourage the business community to expand investment and production activities, in addition to enhancing the investor’s trust in the investment environment in Jordan.

The statement also pointed to the recent Investment Environment Law no. 21 for the year 2022, which, the ministry noted, falls under international best standards and practices, guaranteeing a set of incentives, benefits, and exemptions that encourage investment in the Kingdom, in addition to preserving the acquired rights of investors, and reducing red-tape that hinder carrying out business, economic activities, and efforts to attract investments.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The value of the Qatari private sector’s exports to Jordan during 2022 rose by 15.3 percent, reaching nearly QR150 million ($41.2 million), compared with QR130 million ($35.7 million) in 2021, according to statistics released on Tuesday by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI).

The Qatari exports to the Kingdom include chemicals, motor oils, sulfonic acid, lutrene, aluminum briquettes, paraffin, polyethylene, iron rods, chemical and organic fertilizers, plastic bags and medical solutions, in addition to many food commodities and products.

The chamber seeks to encourage the Qatari private sector to further strengthen trade relations with the Jordanian market to serve bilateral economic and investment cooperation, the QCCI said.

“The Jordanian market is one of the main markets for the Qatari private sector and an important destination in the region,” it added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, The Cabinet Monday approved the mandating reasons for a bill amending the “Shari’a Procedure Code” for 2023 before sending it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau.

The bill aims to enable Sharia courts, the Public Prosecution Office and offices for reform and family reconciliation to degitilise their work, leverage technology, and develop litigation and documentation procedures.

The Cabinet approved the mandating reasons for a bill amending the bylaw of the Social Solidarity Fund for Sharia judges and assistants for Sharia judges for 2023.

It approved the mandating reasons for the draft bylaw of committees in the Jordanian Medical Council for 2023.

Once officially published, the bylaw would allow the establishment of technical committees for the various tasks of the Council after the issuance of the Jordanian Medical Council Law No. (18) for 2022.

The Cabinet approved that Jordan would host the Arab Centre for Social Policy Studies and the Eradication of Poverty in Arab Countries.

Source: Jandan News Agency