Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund reviews achievements, plans

AMMAN — The Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF) held its second general assembly meeting on Tuesday, which was attended by the company’s shareholders, board of directors, representatives from the Companies Control Department and external auditors Ernst & Young.

The meeting aimed at reviewing the SJIF’s progress since its inception in 2017, the latest developments in projects it is currently pursuing and any advancement it had made in formulating its investment strategy and internal operations, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

In 2018, the SJIF began operations for its first major milestone — signing a memorandum of understanding with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority in February 2019 for the development and operation of a JD500 million Aqaba-Maan railway and a Maan dry port project.

The projects represent the first phase of Jordan’s national railway network and significantly upgrading Jordan’s logistics infrastructure, according to the statement.

During the meeting, SJIF Chairman Hisham Attar said that the SJIF was preparing to announce several projects in the coming months focused on healthcare, information technology and the tourism sectors.

Furthermore, the chairman said that the SJIF was looking forward to investing in other major infrastructure projects that are in line with both its own strategy and with the government’s investment priorities.

The general assembly meeting further discussed and approved the board of directors’ report and the audited financial statements for 2018.

The SJIF is a Jordanian limited public shareholding company formed in 2017 as a partnership between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns 90 per cent of the company, and 16 conventional and Islamic Jordanian banks, which own the remaining 10 per cent, the statement said.