Jordan Times
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Jordan looks to attract
Gulf investment
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — Jordan will showcase some 75 new
investment projects at a value of JD100 million when Arab and Gulf businessmen
gather here in April for the Second Arab Gulf Forum, CEO of Jordan Investment
Board (JIB), Maan Nsour, said on Tuesday.
“We expect 2007 investment profits to exceed JD1.5 billion, particularly with
the Arab and Gulf investors gathering here this year,” Nsour told reporters
yesterday during a press conference to announce the event.
The forum, to be held from April 17-19, is organised by the JIB in cooperation
with the Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation (JIEC) and acts as a showcase for
the Kingdom’s investment opportunities.
“We provide investors from different countries with a chance to exchange
expertise and discuss with parliamentarians ways to improve the investment
atmosphere here, chairman of the forum, Riyad Sharaf, said.
“Jordan enjoys stable and secure conditions as well as a comprehensive economic
development plan covering several sectors,” he added.
Investment here has grown significantly over the past four years. In 2002 it
stood at just JD301 million, of which JD131 million was foreign investment.
Last year, however, total investment reached JD1.8 billion, 87 per cent of which
came from Gulf investors, flush with petrodollars from the recent high oil
prices.
Most of the investment is focused on industry, education, health, tourism and
the booming real estate sector, particularly hotel construction.
According to JIB figures, Arab financiers invested JD764 million in the
country’s economy in the first nine months of 2006, compared to just JD22
million from the US and Canada and a mere JD8.5 million from Europe.
JIEC’s CEO, Amer Majali, said the volume of Gulf investments in the country’s
five industrial estates reached $71 million in 2006 through 14 companies in the
chemical engineering and pharmaceutical industries, among others.
The industrial estates house over 463 companies and provide 41,000 job
opportunities.
Majali said three new industrial estates will be established by the end of next
year in Aqaba, Muwaqqar and Zarqa. The estates will include plots for developing
sophisticated technological industries, he added.
Meanwhile, Nsour announced that a JIB branch will open soon in Kuwait,
explaining that the amount of Kuwaiti investments in Jordan currently exceeds
JD4 billion.
He added that gradually, more branches will open in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi
Arabia.
The JIB was created after the introduction of the Investment Law of 2003 and the
Investment Promotion Law of 1995, which established it as a governmental body
enjoying both financial and administrative independence with a remit to increase
foreign direct investment to create new job opportunities and increase national
exports.