Jordan attracts $1.3b worth of foreign direct investments by September 2024 – CBJ

-       Foreign Investment reaches $457.8m in Q3

-       FDI inflows reflect stability amid regional challenges - CBJ

-       Arab, GCC countries lead FDI contributions to Kingdom

-       The Netherlands topped list of non-Arab investments at 4.9%

AMMAN — Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to the Kingdom increased during the third quarter of 2024, reaching $457.8 million, a 3.7 per cent rise compared with the same period in 2023, according to Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ).

The CBJ also highlighted that FDI inflows remained stable as a percentage of GDP at 3.2 per cent, reflecting Jordan's continued attractiveness to foreign investors despite ongoing regional geopolitical challenges.

During the first three quarters of 2024, FDI inflows totalled $1.3 billion, equivalent to 3.3 per cent of GDP, compared with $1.6 billion in 2023, according to a CBJ statement.

Arab countries contributed 49.1 per cent of total FDI inflows, with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounting for 31.7 per cent.

CBJ also noted that European Union (EU) countries made up 11.5 per cent of the total, led by the Netherlands at 4.9 per cent, followed by France at 3.5 per cent. Non-Arab Asian countries accounted for 7.2 per cent, with China contributing 2.5 per cent and India 2.1 per cent.

Other countries collectively represented 32.2 per cent of total inflows, it said.

Despite this decline, the central bank said that the overall volume of inflows surpassed the total recorded for both 2021 and 2022 combined.

In terms of economic sectors, the financial and insurance sector attracted the largest share of FDI at 15.7 per cent during the first three quarters of 2024.

The manufacturing sector came next with 7.7 per cent, followed by information and communication at 7.5 per cent, mining and quarrying at 7.3 per cent, transportation and storage at 7.0 per cent, and wholesale and retail trade at 6.1 per cent.

"Investments by non-Jordanian individuals in land and real estate accounted for 14.9 per cent of total FDI inflows."