Jordan Intensifies Investment Efforts, Targets $41 Billion in Foreign Capital by 2033
shahennews
In a strategic move to bolster its position as a prime investment hub in the region, Jordan is proactively curating a portfolio of lucrative investment opportunities across a spectrum of high-growth economic sectors.
This effort, underpinned by a synergistic public-private partnership model, is aimed at elevating Jordan’s status as a dynamic and empowering business ecosystem in the region.
Central to Jordan’s investment proposition are its foundational pillars: enlightened leadership, robust security infrastructure, political and financial equilibrium, strategic geopolitical positioning, a laissez-faire economic system, and seamless integration into global markets via a network of expansive trade agreements.
Additionally, Jordan’s investment climate is enriched by its skilled workforce, bolstered by high educational standards, and an advanced telecommunication infrastructure, creating a fertile ground for opportunities in a multitude of sectors.
In a concerted effort to recalibrate its investment framework, Jordan is deploying a suite of strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing its competitive positioning. This involves leveraging diverse instruments to fortify the business milieu, a cornerstone for investment attraction, economic expansion, and job creation.
Jordan’s legislative landscape has undergone significant modernization to streamline the investor journey.
A pivotal development in this regard is the enactment of a new law governing the investment environment, which augments the Ministry of Investment’s mandate, delineates the government’s strategic investment policies, and extends substantial backing to investors.
This legislative reform is a strategic move to boost Jordan’s economic competitiveness and its prowess in attracting foreign capital.
Complementing this, the enactment of the law on public-private partnership projects is a testament to Jordan’s commitment to fostering an investment-friendly climate. This legislation is instrumental in simplifying procedural frameworks and accelerating the execution of key strategic and vital projects in collaboration with the private sector.
Jordan’s investment landscape is replete with high-yield opportunities spanning diverse sectors such as information technology, tourism and medical tourism, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, healthcare services, food processing, textiles, agriculture, logistics, and chemical and fertilizer industries.
Investment Minister Kholoud Saqqaf underscored the Kingdom’s strategic imperative to attract an increased influx of investments, with a special emphasis on Arab capital.
She highlighted several pivotal reforms undertaken to refine the investment and business ecosystem in Jordan, notably the ratification of the Investment Environment Law and the Public-Private Partnership Law.
Current initiatives include the formulation of detailed regulations for the Partnership Projects Law, aimed at cultivating a conducive environment for both existing and emerging investments.
Minister Saqqaf emphasized the Investment Environment Law’s role in offering a plethora of incentives to investors, which has catalyzed a 34 percent surge in investment volumes within the last nine months of 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
A landmark provision of the law was the facilitation of investment funds, leading to the establishment of Jordan’s largest investment fund, with a capitalization of 100 million dinars, entirely underwritten by Jordanian banking entities.
The government, through the Ministry of Investment, is actively endorsing the establishment of such funds, recognizing their potential to mobilize institutional capital for investment in key sectors, thereby driving economic development and addressing socio-economic challenges like poverty and unemployment.
In her discourse with the Jordanian News Agency (Petra), Saqqaf elaborated on the launch of the invest.jo platform. This platform aligns with the national investment policy and forms a part of the strategic promotion blueprint for 2023-2026. It aims to spotlight promising sectors and target markets to amplify investments in high-value sectors.
The platform lists 36 diversified investment opportunities, collectively valued at $1.4 billion, across strategically chosen sectors, and provides comprehensive information to investors about the legislative framework, electronic registration, licensing processes, and the array of exemptions and privileges available.
The investment spectrum on this platform spans agriculture and food security, chemical industries, creative industries, education, energy, green growth, trade, transportation, logistics services, water management, IT, life sciences, healthcare, tourism, mining, food industries, textiles, and filmmaking, in addition to projects under the public-private partnership umbrella.
To optimize investor services and streamline the business landscape, Jordan has undertaken a digital transformation of services related to licensing and practicing economic activities. In the initial phase of this digitalization project, 95 services provided by the Ministry have been automated, with plans to extend this automation to services offered by other investment-related entities and authorities.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has launched an integrated digital platform (invest.memr.gov.jo) to showcase investment opportunities in mineral resources, petroleum, and oil shale. This platform is interconnected with relevant government bodies and facilitates digital applications for investment.
Khalil Haj Tawfiq, head of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Commerce, highlighted Jordan’s transition into a new ‘economic epoch’ through a comprehensive economic modernization plan extending until 2033, under the auspices of King Abdullah II.
The plan’s objective is to magnetize foreign investments exceeding $41 billion, primarily focusing on eliminating barriers and crafting an investment-friendly legal framework replete with incentives to draw foreign, especially Arab, investments.
Fathi Jaghbir, head of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, acknowledged the recent positive shifts in Jordan’s investment milieu, particularly in the industrial sector.
He underscored Jordan’s unique strategic geographical positioning, abundant mineral resources, and advantageous development and industrial zones.
The presence of a skilled labor force and extensive free trade agreements positions Jordan as an attractive destination for Arab investments in various industrial domains.
Jaghbir called on Arab investors to capitalize on the extensive and diverse industrial sector opportunities, particularly in value chain integration and raw material investments.
He noted that the economic modernization vision places the industrial sector at the forefront of high-value sectors, aiming to attract investments worth over $14.4 billion in the coming decade.
This vision positions the Jordanian industrial sector as a pivotal contributor to the national economy and global export markets.
//Petra// AA
