ACC releases 2018 record of economic indicators

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s GDP reached some JD30 billion in 2018 in comparison with JD29 billion in 2017, a report issued by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) on Wednesday on the Kingdom's economic situation in the past year indicated.

Marking an increase of 5.6 per cent, the local revenues and foreign grants to the Kingdom totalled JD7.8 billion in the last year, in comparison with JD7.4 billion in 2017, while tax revenues jumped by 3.4 per cent to reach JD4.5 billion in comparison with JD4.3 billion in 2017, the report, cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, showed.

The report also indicated that total spending in 2018 climbed to JD8.5 billion, marking a 4.8-per cent increase from 2017, when spending reached JD8.1 billion.

The general budget deficit after grants in 2018 dropped by 2.7 per cent to reach JD728 million compared with JD748 million in 2017.

According to the report, the external trade of commodities in 2018 hit JD19.871 billion, recording a drop from 2017’s JD19.886 billion.

Local exports grew by an estimated 3.6 per cent for the same period of comparison to reach JD4.668 billion in 2018, compared with JD4.504 billion in 2017.

The volume of local exports made up 23.5 per cent of total external trade in 2018, according to the report.

Meanwhile, imported commodities which constituted 72.2 per cent of total external trade in 2018, declined by 1.4 per cent, hitting JD14.353 billion, compared with JD14.553 billion in 2017.

The deficit in trade balance was narrowed by 4.2 per cent, amounting to JD8.834 billion in 2018, compared with JD9.220 billion in 2017, the report indicated.

Data also showed that direct foreign investments in 2018 dropped by 53.2 per cent to a total of JD674 million, in comparison with JD1.441 billion in 2017, while the capital of registered companies went down by 57.1 per cent to reach JD150 million in 2018, in comparison with JD350 million in 2017. 

The number of registered companies went down from 6,804 companies in 2017 to 5,467 in 2018, marking a decline of some 19.7 per cent, the report added.

The number of workers in the trade and services sector also dropped to reach 460,000 workers in 2018, compared with 515,000 workers in 2017.

The total trading volume at the Amman Stock Exchange declined by 20.7 per cent to reach JD2.319 billion in 2018, compared with JD2.926 billion in 2017. 

The overall stock trading dropped by 27.4 per cent, Petra added, with the percentage of shares owned by non-Jordanians estimated at 51.7 per cent of overall trading in 2018, compared with 48.1 per cent in 2017, the report said, noting that foreign investments at the exchange climbed to JD485 million in 2018, compared with JD334 million in 2017.

Tourism revenues increased by 13.1 per cent to reach JD3.727 billion in 2018 in comparison with JD3.294 billion in 2017.

Tourism spending hit JD985 million in 2018, in comparison with JD984 million in 2017, while real estate trading dropped by 14.8 per cent for the same period of comparison, with total trade in the sector during 2018 reaching JD5.2 billion compared with JD6.1 billion in 2017.

Credit facilities extended by the Kingdom’s banks to various economic sectors totalled JD26.108 billion in 2018, in comparison with JD24.736 billion in 2017, marking a 5.5-per cent increase, the report noted.