Business

AQABA — The Baddad Company for Aviation on Saturday received the first plane at its maintenance centre in Al Hussein International Airport in Aqaba to undergo maintenance, Fatin Baddad, chairman and chief executive officer of Baddad Holding, said Sunday.

Baddad, who has recently announced the launch of the first phase of the centre's operations, added that tens of planes are expected to arrive at the centre for maintenance in the future. The centre, among the biggest private centres in the Middle East, was established on a  65,032 square metres plot of land inside the airport. The Baddad Holding has other aviation projects, including a logistics centre specialised in private aviation, a centre for tourist helicopter aviation and a centre for spare parts for different kinds of planes.

AMMAN — A concerted drive is under way in Jordan to reinvigorate the important tourism sector that has been curtailed by regional instability.

The total number of visitors in 2014 dipped 1.2 per cent year-on-year, reaching 5.3 million, as the number of tourists arriving on daytrips slipped 7.4 per cent year-on-year to 1.3 million, according to data provided by the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB). The number of overnight visitors fared slightly better in the year, rising 1.1 per cent to reach nearly 4 million, but according to the latest data, the tally for January and February is down 8.3 per cent year-on-year.

Despite the drop in overall numbers, tourism receipts remained stable throughout 2014, totalling JD3.1 billion ($4.37 billion), according to Central Bank of Jordan data, up 6.3 per cent on the previous year, thanks in part to a rise in tourists from the Gulf region.

Jordanian expatriates accounted for the largest number of all visitors in 2014, making up just under a third of all overnight stays in 2014, marking an increase of 10.8 per cent year-on-year. Overnight arrivals from Gulf countries, which made up 17.3 per cent of the total number of visitors, rose 3.1 per cent. However, visitors from other Arab countries, which represented the largest group of visitors in 2013, slipped 7.6 per cent to make up 27.6 per cent of total overnight arrivals in 2014.

Regional challenges

The various regional conflicts, and most notably the rise of the so-called Daesh in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, is largely responsible for visitors staying away, even though internally Jordan remains stable.

Industry players believe that other regional events are also causing problems. 

“A lot of winter bookings were cancelled in the wake of the Gaza conflict and since then the issue of Daesh…has become more and more prominent,” said Peter Hoesli, general manager of the Mövenpick Resort Dead Sea in Sweimeh, near Madaba. 

The fall in visitors number has prompted the authorities, supported by industry representatives, to introduce measures aimed at boosting activity. A Cabinet reshuffle in early March led to the reappointment of a dedicated minister for tourism in a widely welcomed move.

Later in the month, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched a campaign in conjunction with the JTB and tour operators to galvanise domestic tourism. The campaign includes promotions on travel packages to the Dead Sea and historical sites such as Petra.  

But keen to see more done, industry players have also drawn up a number of proposals, which include a reduction of entry fees to Petra for visitors staying in nearby hotels, as well as proposals to support the struggling hotel industry with cuts to taxes and lower electricity prices. 

Reaching for the skies 

New developments in the aviation sector could prove instrumental in boosting air traffic, and visitor numbers, to the Kingdom.

In a significant development at the start of the year, UAE-based budget airline Air Arabia bought a 49 per cent stake in Jordanian charter carrier Petra Airlines, to be rebranded Air Arabia Jordan.

The firm plans to open a new international hub at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA), becoming Air Arabia’s fifth in the region and operating flights to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. 

“The acquisition is good news for the industry, as Air Arabia represents a new, large potential source of capital,” Kjeld Binger, chief executive officer at Airport International Group — which operates QAIA — told Oxford Business Group (OBG). 

“It will bring more jobs and contracts for services, and more competition will give rise to market growth and more innovation,” he added.

Industry players hope that the merger of these low cost carriers will help counter the 15 per cent year-on-year drop in passenger traffic seen at QAIA last year. This was compounded by the UK’s budget airline easyJet cancelling its three-times-weekly London Gatwick route to Amman last year.

Directives from the government to boost tourism numbers are spurring other carriers into action. 

In March, the national flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, announced plans to offer discounted tickets to tour operators for use in package deals. The initiative is targeted primarily at Gulf Cooperation Council and European markets, which, between them, account for almost half of overnight arrivals before the inclusion of Jordanians living abroad.

The tourism industry is also calling for other measures to be introduced including the abolition of a departure tax for charter flights and low-cost carriers using Amman Civil Airport at Marka.

Whilst perhaps little can be done to boost sentiment amongst travellers, the Jordanian authorities and stakeholders in the tourism sector are looking to do all they can to try to create an environment for the industry to grow. 

In the long-term, they will certainly be hoping for more favourable regional headwinds.

This article was provided by Oxford Business Group

DAMASCUS — Syria's entrepreneurs, suffering from crippling losses after four years of civil war, have launched a drive to encourage consumers hit by burgeoning inflation and a shortage of imports to "buy Syrian".

A first instalment of the "Made in Syria" fair in Damascus this month attracted around 60 local companies to showcase products that are both easier to acquire and far cheaper than whatever imports are available.

Fuad Adam is sales director at kitchenware company Heart, whose factory in Douma, near the capital, was destroyed by months of fighting.

But he is at the fair anyway, offering whatever wares could be saved before the plant was reduced to rubble.

"We're participating in this exhibition to keep our brand alive in the minds of consumers," he explains, as shoppers make their way through what looks like a makeshift hypermarket set up in a sports complex in the Mazzeh residential district.

Organised by the Damascus Chamber of Industry, the fair aims to "promote our industry and encourage people to buy Syrian products, which are half as expensive as imported goods", says chamber official Mohammed Omar.

This first event was such a success that organisers are planning monthly fairs, not only in the capital, but also in other areas under government control, including one in the western province of Tartus in May.

They could be a major boon for Syrian consumers, whose purchasing power has been devastated as the economy has crumbled amid the fighting.

Millions of Syrians have been driven into exile by a war that has killed more than 220,000 people, and the United Nations estimates that four out of five of those who remain are living below the poverty line.

Dania, 30, says she came to the fair just "to walk around".

But she ends up with such a load of cleaning products, milk, cheese and even thyme, all of which were discounted to encourage spending, that her husband has to carry the bag for her.

"It's worth it," she says. "It's half the price of the store."

Crumbling economy 

For Dania, like many other Syrians, buying imported products has become nearly impossible.

Syria's currency has plunged since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, dropping from 50 pounds to the dollar to 300 pounds this year.

To limit the damage caused by a foreign currency shortage, authorities are curbing imports while trying to promote exports, according to Fares Shehabi, president of the Syrian Federation of Chambers of Industry.

"Whatever we can produce here will no longer be imported. We will be able to provide the market with many products," he says.

But boosting exports will be difficult for a country where many companies and businessmen have been under international sanctions since 2012.

Syria's exports have plunged from $11.3 billion (10.5 billion euros) in 2010 to only $1.8 billion last year, according to pro-government newspaper Al Watan.

Sanctions and loss of government control over many border areas have made it difficult to bring in goods, cutting the export-import ratio from 82.7 per cent in 2010 to 29.7 per cent in 2014.

The family-owned Halwani company is one of Syria's most important producers of halwa, a sweet made of sesame, almonds, and honey. It has seen sales plummet by 60 per cent over the past four years.

"There were so many customers for us throughout Syria and now we have lost that market," says owner Louay Halwani.

Communication lines between provinces have been cut, and suburbs around the capital are either besieged by the regime or have been destroyed by battles, he adds.

To offset its drop in sales, the company wants to use the new fair "to approach consumers directly, without going through intermediaries", Halwani says, determined to save the company founded by his great-grandfather 185 years ago.

Ahmad has a factory that produces pret-a-porter clothing and lingerie and says sales have dropped 50 per cent since the war's outbreak, explaining that consumers are no longer buying "non-essential items".

Speaking to a young customer who picked out a counterfeit "Chanel" T-shirt adorned with sequins, Ahmad emphasises the bargains to be had.

"We have new skirts in different colours for only 2,000 pounds ($7)," he says. "It's really nothing!"

AMMAN — Jordan Steel Group has all options on the table for a solution to its meltshop, shareholders were told in the 21st annual report disclosed to the Amman Stock Exchange.

"The board of directors realises the size of investment and the importance of the meltshop in the production process, and is fully convinced that the current conditions are only transitory due to the regional situation and other business constraints," Chairman Mudar Badran wrote in a foreword.

"As such, all the options are open to find a solution for its status, whether to restart operations should the conditions change or lease the meltshop for a limited period as a temporary solution," he said.

The meltshop, operated by the Consolidated Jordanian Co. for Steel Industry Ltd. which is wholly owned by Jordan Steel Group, was idled in January 2015 and all its workers laid off  to avoid incurring additional operational losses.

The Consolidated Jordanian Co. for Steel Industry Ltd. registered a JD2.6 million loss in 2014 on top of JD2.4 million in accumulated losses from previous years. 

Faced with a labour dispute, the company opted to shoulder extra losses and agreed to compensate the workers whose services were terminated and help them by more than what they are legally entitled to.

According to the annual report, JD700,000 were deducted from the  2014 income statement as an end-of -service indemnity expense related to the  dismissal of around 200 workers.   

Badran indicated that the meltshop closure was the last option for the board of directors which considered moving it abroad and the possibility of finding investors who would contribute to relocating and operating it.

Noting that regional conditions did not help moving in such direction, Badran said negotiations were also held with several companies outside Jordan with the intention of selling the meltshop to investors abroad, but prices offered were low and no deal could be reached with any. 

"Consequently, efforts are continuing in this venue to obtain the best prices that would safeguard the interests of the company and shareholders," he added.

The chairman listed several factors, including higher costs for electrical power, that led to losses at the mother company and almost all subsidiaries.

Besides the regional turbulence that negatively affected local economic and business activities and caused a relative decline in the construction sector, especially mega infrastructure and investment projects, Badran mentioned scrap metal as a dilemma for the company.

He said that due to the drop in the quantities of scrap metal in local market, competition sharpened domestically and negatively impacted the results of the group.

Badran added that it was impossible to import scrap metal from abroad in a realistic way because of the complexities imposed for such purchases in addition to the lack of means for handling and unloading at the Aqaba port.

Based on the aforementioned shortcomings, and with insufficient quantities of scrap metal in the local market and the unfeasibility of competing with imported billet at present, the chairman revealed that a number of firms opted in 2014 to shutter operations and dismiss workers.

He wondered why Jordan has no controls to protect the local industry from dumping policies just like other countries.

The chairman went on to explain the circumstances that put Jordan Steel Group in a bind pointing in the foreword to the crisis in Ukraine, the slowdown in China's economy and the steep decline in oil prices as reasons that caused a sharp fall in the international prices of steel.

"Due to the decline in prices, domestic competition became more acute as local steel firms scrambled to dispose of their accumulated inventory in a market  already facing lower demand as a result of diminished economic growth," Badran indicated, noting that this competition overburdened the company financially.

To minimise the impact of price volatility on the financial results, he said the company also moved to lower the stocks of finished products at its rolling mill stressing the management's keenness to bring down spending and raise production efficiency in the hope of overcoming the current difficulties and achieving better results in order to regain profitability.

Within this context, the group is considering an upgrading of rolling mill's production programmes and liquidating its subsidiary Jordan Steel Engineering Industries Company and transferring its production line to the mother company.

Jordan Steel Engineering Industries Company, with a cadre of 23 employees at the end of 2014,  posted a JD74,051 loss last year on top of JD7,744 in accumulated loss. 

Modern Wire Mesh Co., the third subsidiary with a cadre of 10 employees at the end of 2014, was also in the red last year with a JD92,517 loss and a JD47,743 of accumulated losses before 2014.

Ammoun Steel Trading Co., the fourth subsidiary tasked with marketing the output of Jordan Steel and construction materials and steel products in general besides representing local entities and foreign corporations in an attempt to diversify and improve the group's income resources, was slightly profitable generating JD6,797 profit in 2014. Its accumulated profit from previous years amounted to JD4,696.

According to the balance sheet as of December 31, 2014, Jordan Steel achieved JD102.2 million in sales last year, 8.1 per cent than the JD96.4 million recorded in 2013.

The highest sales figure was registered in 2011 when the amount peaked at JD118.5 million.

Noting that the company, employing some 200 workers, sells part of its output to Aqaba's free zone in addition to local traders, contractors and housing projects, the report estimated its domestic market share at around 31 per cent, despite fierce competition from about nine firms operating in the same sector, besides the imported steel quantities.        

The growth in sales could not sustain the high profitability of Jordan Steel whose gross profit fell noticeably due to the difficult circumstances plaguing the steel industry.

The consolidated statement of comprehensive income showed that gross profit tumbled from JD3.2 million in 2013 to JD1.1 million in 2014.

Taking into consideration various other revenues and expenses as well as finance cost, allowance for doubtful receivables, and end-of-service indemnity, the 2014 net result came at JD2.7 million loss compared to a JD216,000 profit in the previous year.

The highest net profit was registered in 2007 when it peaked at JD6.3 million.

The balance sheet's highlights include a drop in bank debts from JD29.3 million in 2013 to JD26.2 million last year, and a sharp drop in current assets from JD41 million to JD33.5 million due mainly to much lower inventory.

Financing costs, at JD1.3 million, puts a heavy burden on the company because the meltshop could not supply the rolling mill with the needed billet raw material and, thus, had to be imported.  

Fixed assets, mainly, property, plant and equipment totaled JD41 million, down from JD42.2 million in 2013. The amounts are also considered to be capital investments.  

The company attributed the rise in receivables from JD7.5 million at the end of 2013 to JD7.7 million at the end of last year to fervent sales and special facilities given to certain customers. 

The Social Security Corporation owned a 6.7 per cent stake in Jordan Steel at the end of last year as its equity stood at 2,355,071 shares.

AMMAN — Syrian rebels' seizure of the main frontier crossing with Jordan has dealt a heavy blow to the Damascus government's efforts to revive a once thriving export trade crippled by civil war, and is also hurting businesses across the region.

Western-backed mainstream insurgents took control of the Nasib crossing three weeks ago, closing the chief conduit for bilateral trade worth over $2 billion a year.

Along with Syrian and Jordanian firms involved in the border trade, Lebanese exporters are also feeling the pain as they are no longer able to send goods by truck through Syria and Jordan to their major markets in the Gulf. Exporters are being forced to turn to a far more costly sea and land route via Egypt to reach consumers in the wealthy oil producing states.

"Nasib in particular is a catastrophe for us and for our products and also for the Jordanian side too because it also handled cargo and commercial exchanges," Muhanad Al Asfar, a senior member of the Syrian Exporters' Union told state television last week.

Syria, home to an ancient mercantile culture, was once a crossroads for trade between Europe and the Arabian peninsula, carrying billions of dollars of goods arriving from Turkey and heading for the Gulf. Its own producers were also major suppliers to the region.

This trade has dived during four years of crisis, which began with a peaceful uprising against President Bashar Assad and descended into civil war. 

Now, Damascus is trying to rebuild Syrian industry and exports to withstand sanctions imposed by the West and defeat the insurgency.

At least 40 per cent of industrial capacity was left idle, but firms have moved some production away from areas worst hit by the fighting. 

The government is pushing them hard to raise exports needed to earn scarce foreign currency and boost imports of essential raw materials.

"Syria's priority is to get foreign exchange and not to import goods that are produced locally. I want to preserve my foreign currency to buy essential goods," Thaer Fayad, head of foreign trade in the economy ministry, told state television.

Syrian exports climbed back to $1.8 billion last year, the highest level since the crisis began in 2011, according to Ihab Smandar, the president of the state-run Exports Promotion Authority. 

However, this fell far short of the import bill, which he estimated at $4.3 billion, and remained a small fraction of exports in 2010 which totalled $12 billion.

Until now, Syria's southern border has played a leading role in the revival drive: Jordanian figures show two-way trade with Syria was in the region of $2 billion last year.

The Nasib crossing on the main Damascus-Amman highway grew in importance due to a steady rise in exports of garments and consumer goods from the plants that Syrian entrepreneurs relocated to government-controlled areas in Damascus and the Mediterranean coastal region.

Bad time for farmers 

The timing of the closure could not have been worse for Syrian farmers as a good rainy season had created a surplus in recent months of produce ranging from apples to citrus fruit that was available for export.

Other major land routes are not an option for official trade. In the north, the Bab Al Hawa and Azaz crossings with Turkey are also in rebel hands while most routes into Iraq are controlled by Islamic State militants. The only major exception is Yarubiyeh, but that is held by Syrian Kurds.

Jordan has backed the mainstream rebels but still has diplomatic relations with Syria. Close commercial ties link many businesses in both countries while Jordanian-owned banks are a pillar of the Syrian financial system. 

Hundreds of Syrian investors who have lost their factories have also relocated their operations to Jordan.

Amman was therefore keen to maintain the border trade and used its influence with rebel groups to stop them taking over Nasib. But they eventually moved in, apparently to pre-empt a takeover by the Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda.

About 300 trucks had been crossing a day from Syria, a third of which were Lebanese vehicles heading to the Gulf, despite heavy fighting in the area. 

This traffic was down from 1,000 a day before the crisis, but was one of the few remaining signs of normality in official cross-border trade.

"When you look at turmoil around you, this was the major gateway in the Levant to the Gulf," said Mohammad Al Dawoud, head of Jordan's truckers association that has 17,000 trucks.

For Jordan, exports worth in excess of $1 billion a year are at risk, mainly raw materials for Syrian industrialists and supplies to UN agencies. Loss of this would inflict another blow to a debt-ridden country struggling to accommodate more than 600,000 Syrian refugees.

"The impact of the closure is felt on all sectors of the economy," said Nael Al Husami, chief executive officer of Amman Chamber of Commerce, a major business lobby group.

Some Jordanian businessmen have lobbied the government to open a new border crossing into territory controlled by the Syrian government, allowing official trade to resume.

Lebanon, with almost 70 per cent of its fresh produce to the Gulf going through the crossing, is also suffering. Lebanese officials estimate industrial and agro-exports worth $1 billion would now have to move to costlier sea routes.

Syrian exporters are also scrambling to find alternatives, and face having to pay the equivalent of at least $2,000 per truck in extra shipping costs.

A vessel carrying 40 containers of Syrian apples was due to leave the Mediterranean port of Tartous using a new route via Egypt to Jordan and Gulf markets. 

For the Gulf, this involves unloading the containers in Egypt, trucking them to the Red Sea to avoid the even higher cost of using the Suez Canal, and reloading them on to another vessel for onward shipping.

The uncertainty, delays and extra costs are taking a toll. Syrian lingerie maker Bassem Al Hilo said two orders from long-standing customers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth $250,000 worth were now in jeopardy.

"It's impossible to find a better and cheaper alternative to Nasib. It's geography," Hilo said in a phone interview. "Many textile manufacturers that only recently began to export after over three years of disruption will find it hard to survive if this goes on for too long."

AMMAN — The Housing Bank announced in a press sattement on Saturday that it will be distributing dividends to shareholders at a rate of 35 per cent.

"Pretax profit last year amounted to a record JD162.1 million, an 8 per cent growth over the JD150.1 million posted in 2013," Chairman Michel Marto told the shareholders during an ordinary general assembly meeting.

"Net after-tax profit stood at JD123.9 million last year,16 per cent higher than the JD106.9 million in 2013," the press release quoted him as saying.

Marto added that the bank group achieved growth in most items of the balance sheet, where assets rose to JD7.6 billion, customer deposit balances increased to JD5.5 billion and total credit facilities portfolio amounted toJD3 billion.

According to the press statement, capital adequacy stood at 18.1 per cent, much higher than the 8 per cent required by the Basel Committee, and the 12 per cent required by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ).

"Liquidity ratio was 170 per cent, exceeding the 100 per cent minimum required by the CBJ [100%]," the press release said. "Loans-to-deposit ratio was 49.8 per cent, and the return on assets came at 1.7 per cent and return on equity rights was 11.8 per cent.

Marto said in the press statement that the bank topped the Jordanian banking  list in terms of saving deposits in local currency and that its share of total assets was 15 per cent.

Its share of customer deposits was 15.3 per cent, and that of direct credit facilities was 11.3 per cent, according to the chairman. 

With five new branches, the number of operating branches in Jordan became 124 at the end of last year in addition to 208 ATMs, which is the largest network in the local market. 

AQABA — Jordan’s port city is at a crucial juncture, the chief commissioner of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) told a large gathering of businessmen on Thursday.

Hani Al Mulki said consecutive ASEZA administrations have elevated Aqaba to a level that positions it to truly become Jordan’s economic capital.

Yet, besides the strides achieved in terms of infrastructure, construction, transport, tourism and industrial development, the chief commissioner added that the cycle is incomplete without a wider business sector.

He pointed to tradesmen and providers of services as two categories that are still needed to give Aqaba a further commercial boost .

“Take the initiative now because that is where innovation starts and where profits await those who grab opportunity first,” he said. “Those who hesitate end up losers.”

Mulki added that Aqaba started with one port and now has nine, not only serving the Kingdom but many regional countries.

In 2001, Aqaba had 500 hotel rooms, most of which were below 4-star classification. In 2014, he indicated, the number of rooms reached 4,125 with an added quality from 4- and 5-star hotels that enhanced the status of the port city as a competitive tourism destination.

ASEZA's chief commissioner expects the total number of hotel rooms to reach 7,978  by the end 2017. Part of this increase will emerge from other value added mega projects that Ayla and Saraya 5-star hotels will provide.

Another substantial part will come from 3-and 4-star hotels to widen the diversification of Aqaba's tourism offerings and cater to market demands.

He mentioned King Hussein Airport, Saraya Aqaba, Tala Bay, Ayla and Mersa Zayed as major contributors to the city’s development, and commended Arab Bank for opening a significant foothold in the port city.

“We need more banks, insurance companies, lawyers, accountants, moneychangers and other service providers,” he stressed, offering investors and businessmen the North Business District as new ground for commercial development.

Covering 704,000 square metres in total area that is fully serviced with state-of-the-art infrastructure, the parcels range between 4,000 metres and 10,000 metres that can be used for investments such as shops, offices, dormitories, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and health club centres, banks, meeting halls, hotels, furnished apartments, student housing, and recreational and sports centres.

The chief commissioner spoke of sport tourism as another potential business of attraction emphasising the importance of widening appeals in order to give Aqaba an added advantage over regional competitors and make it more vibrant.

Speaking in a large elegant tent erected at the site, Mulki indicated that about 1,500 condominiums will be on sale in the coming few months and, with the flow of high-income families, there will be a need for a wide range of professionals in various trades to cater for the rising of affluent population in Aqaba.

Mulki detailed the progress and development activities in Aqaba listing Tala Bay as an existing scheme that comprises 450 housing units. 

Under construction are: Ayla (450 housing units); Saraya (750);  Mersa Zayed or Al Raha Village (512); and Aqaba National Real Estate projects Company (170 units close to the North Business District for middle class families). 

In total, nearly 2,340 housing units are in the pipeline until 2017.   

Another 170 housing units will be constructed also near the zone in 2017.

All these newcomers will need banking, insurance, and logistic services, he said, adding that he will soon be holding meetings with members of the business community, including the chambers of industry and commerce as well as various associations, to discuss how best can they support this investment drive.   

He asked the businessmen attending the gathering to prop up investments and spread the word to relatives, friends and associates reiterating repeatedly that Aqaba stands at a juncture for an economic boom by 2017.

Mulqi admitted that the road will not be rosy but affirmed the determination to press ahead despite all impediments because Aqaba cannot wait at a time when regional competitors are advancing investment schemes in all areas.

According to the bulletin highlighting the North Business District, deals with investors will be conducted as land development and ownership transfer.

“First instalment is due upon signing the land development and transfer agreement,” the bulletin indicated. “Second instalment is due 12 months from the date of signing the accord.”

Third and final instalment is due 24 months from the date of signing the agreement.

“Land ownership transfer to second party is subject to settling all due payments in addition to developing 40 per cent of the project,” the bulletin said in an apparent control step to prevent real estate trading.

“The progress of the project will be estimated by comparing the actual cost of the completed development of the project with the estimated total development cost of the entire project as per the maximum allowed built up area as per the general scheme/master plan included in the agreement,” it added.

Because the district is strategically located in the northern part of Aqaba with proximity to the city centre, King Hussein International Airport, the Dead Sea road and the desert highway connecting Aqaba to Amman, the land adjacent to main roads costs JD120 per square metre whereas interior land costs JD100 per square metre.

“The district is surrounded by Aqaba’s central health, educational academies, residential and commercial projects such as ASEZA building, Arab Bank, University of Jordan-Aqaba branch, Prince Hashem Bin Abdullah Hospital, and Raya Plaza,” the bulletin indicated.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is still at the top in global vehicle sales after the first quarter, selling 2.52 million vehicles around the world, outpacing rivals Volkswagen and General Motors even as weakness in Japan dragged on its growth.

The Japanese automaker has been the world's top-selling automaker for the past three years. No. 2 Volkswagen Group of Germany reported last week that it sold 2.49 million vehicles for the January-March period.

Volkswagen edged out US automaker General Motors Co., which reported global sales of 2.4 million vehicles earlier this week.

Toyota's global vehicle sales, according to the number released Thursday, were down 2 per cent from a year earlier, as vehicle sales in Japan lagged. Volkswagen's sales were up 1.8 per cent year-on-year, while GM's were up 1.9 per cent.

The race among the three automakers is intense, playing out worldwide, including relatively new markets such as India and China, although each of them emphasize that the real competition is about coming out with good products, not beating rivals.

Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid, Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models, has had its ups and downs, such as a recall fiasco that began in 2009, as well as the 2011 tsunami and quake disaster in northeastern Japan that hobbled its parts-supply chain and factory production.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, put ambitions for aggressive growth on hold for some years after the recall scandal, which resulted in millions of vehicles being recalled, mostly in the US, for an array of defects.

But he recently said Toyota is ready to start growing again, although cautiously and gradually, focusing on shared parts across a variety of models that will allow the automaker to cut costs while honing in on quality control.

GM is embroiled in a defect problem of its own since last year, over problem ignition switches.

The Detroit-based automaker, which includes Chevrolet, Opel, Buick and Cadillac as its brands, was the top-selling automaker for more than seven decades until being surpassed by Toyota in 2008.

Volkswagen, which has Audi and Bugatti under its wing, has come from behind with fantastic speed in recent years, including key markets such as China where potential for growth remains great.

In 2014, Toyota became the first automaker in the industry's history to sell more than 10 million vehicles around the world in a year.

MOSCOW – Western companies are sticking with Russia, waiting for an economic rebound that they expect will once again bring rich rewards although some have cut operations to weather the slump.

Russia is expecting a steep recession this year, caused by low international oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict even though international tensions have eased.

US carmaker General Motors is the highest-profile example of a Western company significantly scaling back its Russian operations, citing long-term challenges after a fall in sales.

But there have not been any major departures and others are still planning investment.

Typical sales of global manufacturers are expected to grow 6-8 per cent in rouble terms this year despite the downturn and sales rates of 12-18 per cent seen just two years ago are still fresh in executives' minds.

"For everyone its absolutely clear that this is a big market that will be back over time," said Alexander Ivlev, managing partner of Ernst and Young in Moscow.

The immediate prospects for Western companies in Russia are dim. Household spending is falling — bad news for multinationals, drawn by the large consumer market and an expanding middle class, which is now tightening its belt. Russian companies have also cut spending.

German industrial group Siemens, maker of big-ticket consumer items such as washing machines and fridges, as well as  heavy machinery, has seen sales in Russia plunge by about half Germany's Bild am Sonntag reported, citing chief executive Joe Kaeser. Yet the company says it has no plans to curtail investments in Russia.

Other global companies, such as confectionary giants Nestle and Mars, are also hoping to keep to their development plans.

"We are doing everything we can to continue development despite the slowdown of the Russian economy. We are still confident in Russia's long-term prospects," Nestle Russia CEO Maurizio Parnello said last month.

Nestle's sales in the Russia-Eurasia region rose 13 per cent last year in local currency terms to 86.4 billion roubles ($1.67 billion).

And Swedish furniture giant IKEA is pressing ahead with plans to invest 2 billion euros in Russia by 2020, adding to its 14 shopping centres by expanding into smaller cities with untapped potential.

"Our plans have not changed," said Konrad Grüss, deputy retail manager for IKEA Russia. "The needs are the same in Russia as in the rest of the world: a nice kitchen, a nice bathroom, all the dreams and wishes as everybody else."

Daniel Thorniley, head of CEEMEA Business Group, a Vienna-based consultancy that researches multinationals in the region, said for a typical global manufacturer in Russia 2015 sales growth of 6-8 per cent in rouble terms is realistic — barring a reescalation in the Ukraine conflict. That compares with growth of around 12-18 per cent two years ago.

If the rouble remains stable in 2015 — or strengthens as it has done so far this year — such a growth rate would translate into dollars or euros, which "would actually make Russia one of the best markets in the world for clients", he said.

The Russian market also matters for multinationals because of its sheer volume — often accounting for as much as the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, including all other ex-Soviet states and Turkey, put together.

These high volumes translate into healthy profits even if sales disappoint, thanks to traditionally high "premium" prices charged in the country.

"Russia was a super-premium price market and high profitability. Now it's going to come down," Thorniley said. "But even if it comes down off those highs it might not be that bad."

New opportunities 

Central bank data show investment has slumped. Non-bank foreign direct investment into Russia was $3.1 billion in the first quarter — down from $10.5 billion a year earlier and $36.6 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

But firms are biding their time while some may have already found that sanctions and the weaker rouble have provided new opportunities.

"Companies are looking for the future and looking for the right moment," said Ernst and Young's Ivlev.

He said foreign companies see opportunities for local expansion in electronics, pharmaceuticals and agribusiness where there are opportunities to replace imports.

Danish pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk, the world's largest producer of insulin for diabetes sufferers, opened a $100 million factory in Kaluga this month, its first in Russia.

"If you were just making short-term investment decisions then you could say the economic climate is not good," said Novo Nordisk's country manager Henrik Dahl. "But investing in diabetes care for us is a long-term investment.”

AMMAN — A high level delegation headed by Khurram Dastgir Khan, minister of commerce of Pakistan, will be visiting Jordan from April 28, 2015 in connection with the 9th session of Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) which will take place on April 29 and April 30, 2015 in the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Supply, Amman. Pakistan-Jordan economic relations are governed by the JMC, which was formed in 1975. This platform is extremely important in that it helps both sides to take stock of existing trade relations in a detailed manner and propose/initiate new projects. The JMC meets alternately in Islamabad and Amman. Eight sessions of the JMC have been held so far. During the upcoming session, both sides will review all aspects of bilateral relations particularly in the field of commerce and trade. The joint commission will further consolidate the existing strong and brotherly relations between Pakistan and Jordan besides signing a number of agreements. The visiting minister will also meet high level Jordanian dignitaries during his stay in Amman.