Jordan Times
Tuesday, July 21, 2004
Report sees 5.5% GDP growth this year
AMMAN (Petra) — A report issued by the Ministry
of Planning and International Cooperation on Tueday envisages 5.5 per cent
growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for this year compared to 3.2 per cent in
2003.
The GDP, the broadest measure of the health of a state's economy, can be defined
as the total market value of goods and services produced within a given period
after deducting the cost of goods utilised in the process of production.
According to the ministry's report, Jordan has achieved good economic results
and positive indicators this year despite regional and international
instability.
The country's GDP during this year's first quarter stood at 6.9 per cent,
according to the ministry's figures.
Between 1999 and 2003, Jordan's GDP saw different growth rates ranging between
3.1 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.
The fastest growing sector was that of industry, recording a growth of 17.4 per
cent, according to the ministry's report.
The construction sector ranked second, recording a growth of 15.6 per cent,
followed by water and electricity services at 15 per cent and transport and
telecommunications at 11.1 per cent with the hotels and tourism sector recording
the least growth of 6.7 per cent.
The external debt ratio of the GDP dropped during the first five months of the
year, reaching 68.2 per cent compared to 77 per cent during the previous year.
The ministry also predicted that the inflation rate will reach 3.5 per cent in
2004, up from 2.3 per cent recorded in 2003.
The increase in the inflation rate is seen as a natural result of the
government's decision to raise the prices of oil products and the sales tax to
16 per cent from 13 per cent, as of last May, in addition to the increase in the
prices of some of the production inputs.
The report also showed that 161 companies are registered at the Amman Stock
Exchange at present, of which 40 per cent are joint venture companies.
The bourse's market capitalisation stood in May 2004 at around $11.4 billion,
according to the ministry's figures while the Kingdom's total reserves of
foreign currencies stood at $4.4 billion.
In addition, the ministry's report highlighted the country's Socio-Economic
Transformation Plan launched in 2001 at a cost of around $700 million.
The plan focused on the development of human resources, government services and
the Kingdom's 12 governorates in addition to reducing poverty and reforming the
public sector.