‘Taking cue from Singapore, Jordan vies to become business hub’

AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri on Wednesday stressed the importance of boosting Jordanian-Singaporean cooperation especially in the fields of trade, economy and investment.

In his address to the Jordanian-Singaporean Business Forum held on the sidelines of His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to Singapore with the participation of representatives from the Jordanian and Singaporean private sectors, Hammouri highlighted the two countries' “willingness” to increase trade exchange and investments in light of their capabilities.

Singapore is regarded a model in businesses and economic development, he added, as it has achieved remarkable progress within a relatively short span of time to become one of the world’s most developed economies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He also touched on the Kingdom's reforms implemented for achieving economic stability and improving the business environment in light of the challenges facing the region, starting with the easing of regulations that attract foreign investors through granting customs and tax exemptions in addition to lifting restrictions on the capital value of foreign investments in free zones.

"Jordan digitisation" tops the government's agenda, he said, emphasising that the government takes into consideration automating the services related to companies' registration, noting the launch of 34 services in 2018.

About 90 per cent of the e-services are expected to be completed by the end of 2019, Petra added.

Jordan is a hub for various neighbouring countries, he said, adding that the Kingdom and Singapore should work hand in hand to bridge the trade balance gap, pointing out that Jordanian exports to Singapore reached $6 million in 2018 compared with $27 million in imports from Singapore.

Haitham Rawajbeh, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce’s (JCC) representative of the ICT sector, called for building on the King's visit to Singapore and drawing on Singaporean experience of using technology in all sectors and services, underlining that Jordan with its investment privileges and human resources is capable of becoming a regional centre in this field, according to a JCC statement.

The Royal visit to Singapore paves the way for businesspeople and opens new prospects of cooperation between Jordanian and Singaporean companies, Rawajbeh, who is a member in the Jordanian and delegation in Singapore, said.

Ten companies working in the field of IT will take part in the Jordanian- Singaporean Business Forum, scheduled to coincide with the King's visit, the statement added.