Jordan Times
Friday, February 20, 2004
Workshop examines Dead Sea products, mining sector plans and achievements
AMMAN (Petra) — Participants attending a workshop, organised by the Jordan Investment Board (JIB) to promote the country's different investment sectors, examined the development of the Dead Sea products and the mining sector, highlighting the JIB's role to increase their exports.JIB Chief Executive Officer Reem Badran said the workshop aims at acquainting the participants with JIB's role in supporting investments in terms of tax and custom exemptions and the provision of technical counselling.
Badran indicated that a dialogue with various sectors helps determine problems facing them and achieve a qualitative leap in their operations to increase competitiveness and to open more international markets.
Highlighting the institution's role to support and promote the Dead Sea products' sector, Rania Sober, a JIB official, said the institution provides assistance to Jordanian companies wanting to cooperate with foreign bodies interested in this field.
The institution also promotes the sector of the Dead Sea and other related industries contributing to it, such as packing, packaging and marketing, she said.
Sober added that there are 17 companies working in the Dead Sea products' sector with an investment of around JD3 million. The firms have benefited from various exemptions provided under the Investment Promotion Law.
Sober also briefed the gathering on this year's JIB plan to promote the sector, including promotion tours in Britain, France, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to holding an exhibition in the United States.
According to the chairman of the Society of the Manufacturers of Dead Sea Products, Usama Qteishat, only 14 companies operating in this sector account for 79 per cent of the sector's exports.
Qteishat indicated that the performance of other companies was still below the desired level because of the high marketing cost.
He pointed out that advertising campaigns launched by exporting companies have activated the Dead Sea therapeutic tourism.
With regard to the mining sector, Sober indicated that there are 23 mining projects, having an investment volume of around JD22 million, benefiting from the exemptions provided.
Munther Akroush, an official at the Natural Resources Authority, referred to obstacles hampering investments in the mining sector, particularly legislative ones.
He said that mining industries are not classified under those benefiting from customs and tax exemptions.
Akroush also briefed the participants on the authority's plan for 2004 to attract and promote investments in local raw materials, including the preparation of reports on the most significant ones.