Jordan Times
Monday, November 28, 2005
King honours excelling
Arab businessmen
Jordan Economic Forum to be held every year
By Mahmoud Al Abed and Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday inaugurated the 2nd Jordan Economic
Forum (JEF), which is organised by the Lebanon-based Al Iktissad Wal Aamal
Group.
During the ceremony, in which Her Majesty Queen Rania was also present, the King
handed prizes to three excelling Arab businessmen selected as the winners of the
group's Life Time Achievement Prize.
Winners included Nasser Kharafi, president of Kuwait's Kharafi Group, Elia Nuqul,
chairman and founder of the Amman-based Nuqul Group and the Arab Bank, which was
represented by its chairman, Abdul Hamid Shoman.
During the opening ceremony of the two-day event, which attracted the
participation of 1,000 businessmen, officials and experts, Al Iktissad Wal Aamal
Group's General Manager Raouf Abu Zaki announced that upon a request by the
King, the group decided to hold the high-profile event on a yearly basis instead
of every other year.
In his address to the meeting, Abu Zaki said that his group “won its bets on
Jordan,” which since the first JEF meeting in 2003 made a remarkable progress in
various aspects of development.
He indicated that during the past few years, Jordan earned investors' confidence
in terms of the stability of its legislations and policies citing as factors of
success the role the Kingdom has given to the private sector and the
privatisation programme.
However, he urged Jordan to do more to “stand in the face of bureaucracy and
proceed with its administrative, fiscal and political reforms.”
Jordan, Abu Zaki added, is amid a fierce competition for the excessive liquid
cash in the hands of Arab Gulf investors as a result of the soaring oil prices.
He said the Gulf countries are expected to receive $380 billion of oil revenues
by the end of the current year, a sum that exceeds the development needs of
these countries.
Gulf gas sales are also expected to beef up such revenues, and, naturally, the
liquidity would go to investment destinations in the world.
The challenge countries like Jordan face is how much of this wealth can be
attracted as investments, the expert said.
Representing Arab investors in Jordan, chairman of the Abdali Investment and
Development PSC agreed that Jordan has become a “unique investment and tourism
destination.”
The chairman commended the JEF as “an opportunity for exchanging opinions and
ideas and for exploring available investment opportunities in Jordan.”
After the opening ceremony, plenary sessions started to tackle topics such as
“Jordan Economy: The Road Ahead,” which was chaired by Industry and
TradeMinister Sharif Zu'bi.
In the session, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair Al-Ali,
Chamber of Industry Chairman Hatem Halawani and Jordan Exporters Association's
Chairman Ayman Hatahet, were due to outline the future prospects for the
national economy in light of the current indicators.
Other panelists shed light on investment opportunities, especially in the area
of privatisation, and promoted the investment climate in Jordan and the region
as well as the experience of investing in Jordan.
The new mega real estate projects in Jordan will be the focus of a session
today. Other topics on Monday's agenda include the future of the banking sector
in the region and the Jordan ICT advantage, among others.