‘Jordan 2nd market for Chinese companies in UAE, Saudi Arabia’

AMMAN — Jordan has ranked as the second favourite market for Chinese companies operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to a study conducted by Arabia Monitor on 31 enterprises. 

The study, sent to The Jordan Times on Wednesday, was run with the support of the Economic and Commercial Section, the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai, Chinese Business Council UAE and the Contact Office of Chinese Companies in Saudi Arabia. 

According to the survey, Egypt was by far the most favourite country for Chinese companies to expand to, while 25 percent of the respondents listed Jordan as a country of choice for further expansion to the MENA countries.

Florence Eid-Oakden, chief economist of the London-based independent research firm Arabia Monitor, told The Jordan Times that she was “particularly impressed by how well Jordan has featured as one of Chinese companies’ top investment destinations,” adding that “it is in line with their strong preferences for a friendly business environment, stability and government support”.

Economist Isam Qadamani told The Jordan Times that some of the key elements attracting Chinese enterprises to Jordan are “the agreements that the Kingdom has with the US and Europe since China is increasing trade with these regions and Jordan could help them gain further access to these markets”.

He also noted that “Jordan has big projects and investments in energy and information technologies, which is another attractive factor for these companies.”

Furthermore, the study showed that 67 per cent of the surveyed enterprises in Saudi Arabia were eager to increase investments in the next five years, compared to 53 per cent in the UAE.

However, only 17 per cent of the surveyed companies in Saudi Arabia thought that market conditions would improve in the near future, while the 58 per cent expected them to remain the same and 25 per cent expected conditions to worsen within the next year.

The expectations were more favourable for UAE-based companies, with 95 per cent of the surveyed firms stating that market conditions would either improve or remain the same.

In this regard, Eid-Oakden stated that “the willingness of an overwhelming number of Chinese companies to maintain or increase investment levels in the next five years demonstrates their confidence in the MENA region, in particular in the GCC”, concluding that “the Sino-MENA trade and investment relationship is seeing double-digit growth across the board, driven by MENA’s diversification efforts and China’s One Belt One Road initiative”.