Business

CAIRO — Egypt's foreign currency reserves fell for the third consecutive month in September, according to central bank figures, putting pressure on authorities to devalue the currency, limit non-essential imports and take urgent steps to promote investment.

Reserves dropped 9.7 per cent to $16.3 billion from the previous month, the lowest since March, after the central bank repaid $1.25 billion in loans that matured last month, the bank said Wednesday.

"They are getting closer and closer to the critical level," said Hany Farahat, a senior economist at CI Capital in Egypt. "If reserves go below $15 billion with the current state, the pound will come under severe devaluation pressure."

Egypt has been struggling to maintain its foreign reserves since the 2011 overthrow of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, has staked his legitimacy on stabilising the country and reviving the economy.

Years of unrest have taken a heavy toll on Egypt's vital tourism sector and its investment climate. 

Sisi's government has launched a number of mega projects to attract investment but they could take years to get off the ground. Meanwhile, analysts say concerns about a virtually inevitable devaluation are dampening interest.

"Everyone is expecting a devaluation, and since the expectation is there but it's not materialising, then investment will not come until after the devaluation takes place," said Amr Elalfy, global head of research at Mubasher Financial Services.

At the same time, the central bank has "social factors" to consider, he indicated. "Devaluing the pound will increase costs and will increase prices."

Import restrictions on consumer goods, "if the products are selected correctly without compromising local industrial and economic activity”, could free up some foreign currency wasted on importing non-essentials, Farahat added.

Sisi hinted at such measures during a Cabinet meeting Saturday, saying the country imports "many unnecessary goods" that could be provided locally, according to a statement from the president's office.

Separately, a high-profile housing project signed by Abu Dhabi-run contractor Arabtec with the Egyptian government in March 2014 and seen as a sign of the Gulf Arab state's support for Sisi, has stalled, possibly risking his reputation and highlighting Egypt's habit of promising grandiose ventures and then struggling to deliver.

Egyptians were promised one million homes by 2020 at a cost of about 280 billion Egyptian pounds ($35.76 billion) and a raft of other projects to help the economy get back on its feet after the political upheaval that followed the 2011 uprising.

Sisi was counting on billions of dollars in pledges of help from Gulf Arab oil-producing allies. Some of this money has failed to materialise, and local banks are unable to finance the Arabtec project.

"Egyptians want these projects now but in fact they will take years to finish," said a Western diplomat in Cairo.

Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding for the project with Arabtec, which built the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa for Emaar Properties, but now it has ground to a halt. A source familiar with the matter pointed to disagreements over the contract and funding difficulties.

Work has not started and Arabtec has yet to submit a building plan. Arabtec declined to comment, while Abu Dhabi officials could not be reached for comment.

Abu Dhabi, the dominant member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and home to the country's federal government institutions, is the company's largest shareholder in Arabtec through state fund Aabar, which holds a 36.1 per cent stake.

Abu Dhabi officials have been Arabtec's chairmen since mid-2012, with the current board all part of the emirate's government and business elite.

In the original announcement, Arabtec's then chief executive Hasan Ismaik said the project owed much to Abu Dhabi's crown prince "who has been very keen to mobilise all efforts to boost support to our brothers in Egypt through a multitude of humanitarian, economic and social initiatives".

Sisi under pressure

The UAE is still deeply committed to Sisi but when it comes to commercial ventures it is paying closer attention to contract details for a good return on investment, Western diplomats say.

Sisi's success in cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood, seen by Gulf allies as an existential threat, may mean the UAE has less reason to engage in ventures to back him. UAE finances have also been hurt by a fall in oil prices.

When, as army chief, Sisi toppled Morsi, he promised what he called a political roadmap to democracy. Parliamentary elections on October 18-19 mark the last step in that process.

His performance on the economy will come under greater scrutiny as political turmoil eases.

"At the moment, many ordinary Egyptians, due to the fear of political violence in the country, will be giving Sisi a lot of leeway, but eventually, the public will want to see results in economic terms," said H.A. Hellyer, nonresident fellow at the Brookings Centre for Middle East Policy.

"If the results are not sufficiently big or don't come quickly enough, be it on the Arabtec deal, the new administrative capital, or the Suez Canal expansion, Sisi's popularity could suffer quite substantially as a result," he added.

At an investment conference in March, Sisi said the UAE businessmen Mohammed Alabbar, through Abu Dhabi investment firm Capital City Partners, would lead the construction of a new administrative capital. This would include an airport larger than London's Heathrow and a building taller than Paris's Eiffel Tower.

Nearly four months after the initial memorandum of understanding was signed with Alabbar, Egypt's investment minister said that his company would only take "part of the project" along with other investors, including China Construction, which signed a memorandum of understanding of its own to study "building and financing" part of the project. Capital City Partners declined to comment.

In another example of the difficulties faced by these projects, a year after announcing it would build Egypt's first coal-fired power station, Abu Dhabi-based Al Nowais Investments said last month the paperwork still had to be finalised.

"I don't think the UAE is pulling out, but the UAE companies who tried to jump on the bandwagon are finding it difficult to fulfill commitments that were not planned well," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director at NBAD Securities, the stockbrokerage arm of National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Funding trouble

On the Arabtec deal, the parties disagree on profit sharing terms, the government's return for providing the land and state insistence labour and materials be sourced mostly locally for a project that will provide very thin margins, said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Naeem Holdings in Cairo.

It is unclear whether Egypt was swept up in the ambitions of Arabtec's ex-CEO Ismaik, who promised in June 2014 to make Arabtec one of the top 10 companies globally by 2018. Ismaik resigned a week later.

Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, considered a close ally of Ismaik, has also left his roles as chairman of Arabtec and managing director of Aabar's parent firm International Petroleum Investment Co. It is unclear whether his departure is a signal of Abu Dhabi's waning support for the builder.

A source at Egypt's housing ministry said it was still waiting for Arabtec, which has posted losses for the past three quarters, to submit a workable plan detailing how it will build 100,000 homes over five years and the parties have yet to agree when work will start.

Arabtec also does not have the cash to fund the project costs upfront — its cash and cash equivalents were 296 million dirhams ($80.59 million) in arrears as of June 30 according to its most recent earnings statement.

Financing from Egyptian banks is unlikely due to insufficient liquidity in the banking system.

Though the Suez Canal extension was raised through a local investment certificate, analysts say this type of fundraising, which drew on nationalist sentiment to encourage scores of Egyptians to buy up certificates, is unlikely to be repeated.

Angus Blair, head of Signet economic forecasting, questioned the wisdom of mega projects.

"There have to be other solutions to grow the economy — it's one of the parts that could be played as an economic vision but these projects and programmes have to be really well thought through so there is maximisation of value and long term sustainability," he said.

SINGAPORE — South Korea's Lee family, which controls the formidable Samsung conglomerate, topped an inaugural list of Asia's 50 richest families published Thursday by Forbes Asia magazine.

The family had a net worth of $26.6 billion as of late September, with second- and third-generation members now running more than 50 businesses, the magazine pointed out.

The Samsung empire, founded in 1938 by wealthy landowner's son Lee Byung-Chull, has diversified interests ranging from mobile phones to construction and shipbuilding.

Forbes Asia indicated that Samsung, the biggest of the "chaebol" or family-run conglomerates dominating South Korea's economy, accounted for 22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product in 2014.

"Nearly half of the richest families in Asia are of Chinese descent, yet none of the inaugural 50 is based in the mainland, where conglomerates are young, run by the first generation," it said in a report.

The second richest is the Hong Kong Chinese family, also surnamed Lee, which controls Henderson Development and boasts a fortune of $24.1 billion.

The third richest are the Ambanis of India's Reliance Group with a combined net worth of $21.5 billion, followed by Thailand's Chearavanont family with $19.9 billion, generated from the agriculture-based Charoen Pokphand group.

Rounding out the top five is the Kwok family, which controls Hong Kong's Sun Hung Kai property empire, with a combined net wealth of $19.5 billion.

Only families with business involvement extending to at least three generations were included in the survey, the magazine said.

The family of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, who has a current net worth of $25 billion based on a Forbes global list, was excluded because he has no grandchildren who have taken serious roles in the family business, it added.

The estimates of family fortunes were based on stock prices and exchange rates at the close of markets on September 25.

The top 10 richest families in Asia on the Forbes Asia list with their main businesses:

 1. Lee from South Korea (Samsung): $26.6 billion.
 2. Lee from Hong Kong (Henderson): $24.1 billion.
 3. Ambani from India (Reliance): $21.5 billion.
 4. Chearavanont from Thailand (Charoen Pokphand): $19.9 billion.
 5. Kwok from Hong Kong (Sun Hung Kai): $19.5 billion.
 6. Kwek/Quek from Singapore, Malaysia (Hong Leong): $18.9 billion.
 7. Premji from India (Wipro): $17 billion.
 8. Tsai from Taiwan (Cathay Financial): $15.1 billion.
 9. Hinduja from India, Britain (Hinduja Group): $15 billion.
10. Mistry from India (Shapoorji Pallonji Group): $14.9 billion. 

Last month, the mouthpiece newspaper of China's Communist Party has blasted Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing after he sold assets on the mainland with the world's second-largest economy facing headwinds.

The 87-year-old, nicknamed "Superman" for his sharp business acumen, has been offloading major property investments in China, where growth slowed to a 24-year low last year and has continued to weaken this year, after investing heavily there in the 1990s.

The move, combined with his selling of assets in Hong Kong, has fuelled speculation that the richest man in Asia is losing confidence in the Greater China region.

"Capital has no borders while businessmen have their own motherland," the People's Daily said on a verified social media account, implicitly questioning his patriotism.

China's opening up, vast market and favourable policies had been "the key cornerstone" of Li's success, yet he was now leaving his benefactor in the lurch, it said in a commentary Sunday on its account on China's mobile messaging application WeChat, a less formal platform than the printed newspaper itself.

"From the perspective of uncomplicated people, he shared the prosperity while we had good times but could not beat the odds together with us now that we have difficulties," it added. "This is indeed unacceptable emotionally." 

But it sought to downplay any "negative impact" on confidence in China, saying the mainland offers "a vision that goes beyond money".

"We don't need to worry that no investors will come after Li Ka-shing," it said, pointing out the country accounts for more than 12 per cent of the global economy.

"What we can do is not to condescend to persuade him to stay or to hurl invectives out of outrage, but to build the country better to make today's departure tomorrow's regret," it added.

Li, who is currently worth $32.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index, started out in business as a plastic flower-maker.

He has been reshuffling his business empire since the start of this year and earlier this month announced the merger of his utilities firms, part of an overhaul seen as paving the way for him to hand over the reins to his eldest son Victor, 51, after he retires.

In one of his recent overseas purchases, Li in March acquired British telecom giant O2 from Spain's Telefonica for $15.2 billion.

DUBAI — The halal economy is set to grow as the world’s Muslim population expands and more products are certified to comply with Islamic sharia law, experts said on Tuesday.

The range of halal products, from goods not containing pork or alcohol to financial and tourism services, is rising as the global Muslim population grows.

“They are growing because we are increasing by 2.5 to 3 per cent every year. Islam is the fastest growing religion,” said Muhammad Chaudry, president of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America.

He added that many products that were sharia-compliant by nature are now being certified as halal, contributing to the increase in the size of the halal economy.

“When we talk about the halal economy growing by 20 per cent, it is the conversion from indiscriminate we-don’t-know-what’s-in-it economy to a definitely halal-certified economy,” he told AFP at an Islamic economy forum in Dubai. 

The rising demand for halal products has seen businesses, restaurants and hotels across the world cater for the needs of Muslim clients, Chaudry said.

“Halal is a lifestyle. Countries like Japan and Korea are taking the lead to convert their restaurants and hotels into halal-friendly so they can attract more tourists from Muslim countries,” he indicated.

“Halal is a global entity. We are looking at 1.8 billion consumers,” he added, referring to an estimate of the world’s Muslim population.

The head of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, Abdulla Al Muaini, said the Muslim population, expected to reach 2.2 billion in 2030, is a “core market” for halal products.

He pointed out that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation values the global halal sector at $2.3 trillion.

“Halal industry is expected to be one of the steady growing sectors across the global economy,” he added.

Separately, 24 year-old Nurnadille Edlena, dressed in a headscarf and full-length robe, takes notes intently as the man before her introduces himself.

The two are at Halal Speed Dating, a new matchmaking event in Kuala Lumpur that is helping Malaysian Muslims find partners in a largely conservative society where courtship is frowned upon and marriages are often arranged.

The dating service is halal, meaning permissible under Islamic law, as it is practised with an Islamic approach: women speed daters must be chaperoned by a wali, or guardian until she gets married and who grants her the permission to do so.

“I brought my parents as they are the best people who can guide me to find someone,” said Nurnadille. “I’m focusing on finding someone who can willingly accept me for who I am.”

Malaysia is a largely moderate Muslim country, where Islam is the official religion and ethnic Malay Muslims make up two thirds of the 30 million people.

Many young Malaysians meet as young people do in many places, including through the dating app Tinder and on Facebook, but dating is complicated for young Muslims in Malaysia, where public displays of affection and intimacy before marriage is strictly disapproved of.

Halal Speed Dating’s founders say most of their clients hope to find a spouse. A client can shortlist up to three possible partners but can only negotiate marriage with one at a time, in accordance with Islamic rules.

“Halal Speed Dating is the anti-Tinder,” co-founders Zuhri Yuhyi, 34, and Norhayati Ismail, 41, said in a release, referring to the US-based dating app that has gained a reputation for free and easy matchmaking.

“Instead of casual hookups, Halal Speed Dating is about dignified and chaperoned meet-ups with the intention of marriage. In fact, we do not condone the modern dating that is commonly practiced,” they added.

They say their system can prevent what they see as the social ills of premarital sex and adultery, which they believe are fostered by apps like Tinder.

Norhayati remarked that it is not just Muslims who are interested in their system and making inquires.

“I can tell people are looking for something new,” she said.

The founders have organised the event twice in Kuala Lumpur. The first time in May when about 80 people joined, and the second time last week with 60 hopefuls.

About 2,300 people have signed up to attend a session, most of them urban professionals between the ages of 25 to 35.

Mohamad Fauzan, 26, who helps to run his family business in Kuala Lumpur, halal speed dating provides another option in his quest to find true love.

“I’ve done online dating and gone on blind dates, but in our religion, going halal is the better thing to do. It’s better to first get the permission of the parents, but I’m open to all options,” he said.

TOKYO — Asian members of the newly-minted Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Tuesday hailed the deal to create the world’s largest free trade area, with Japan calling it the start of a “new century” for the region.

Delegates from 12 Pacific Rim nations finally managed to hammer out an agreement in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, five years after the US-led talks first began. 

Spanning about two-fifths of the global economy, the hard-won deal aims to set the rules for 21st century trade and investment and press non-member China to shape its behaviour in commerce, investment and business regulation to TPP standards.

Under the deal 98 per cent of tariffs will be eliminated on everything from beef, dairy products, wine, sugar, rice, horticulture and seafood through to manufactured products, resources and energy.

Those involved are the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Asian members were quick to follow President Barack Obama in declaring the agreement a win, even if most nations were forced to compromise on key issues and exact details of the deal remain scant.

“It’s the opening of a new century for the Asia-Pacific region,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, hailing the emergence of a “huge economic zone”.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described the agreement as “a gigantic foundation stone for our future prosperity”.

His New Zealand counterpart John Key said it was the culmination of two decades of work and would offer “more jobs, higher incomes and a better standard of living”.

Malaysia also hailed the deal, saying it had managed to avoid restrictions on its politically sensitive system of favouring the ethnic Malay majority economically.

China, which is not party to the talks, gave the agreement a cautious welcome, with the ministry of commerce describing TPP as “one of the key free trade agreements for the Asia-Pacific region”.

But there was no indication whether it might join itself.

‘Devil’s in the detail’ 

Consensus in Atlanta was only reached after a number of countries made concessions on protected industries, moves which might be hard for domestic voters to swallow.

And critics lambasted the way many details are still secret.

“The lack of access to details in the text means governments can put a positive spin on the deal, but the devil is in the detail, and we won’t have the detail for at least another month,” said Patricia Ranald, coordinator of the Australian Free Trade and Investment Network. 

The accord must be signed and ratified by the respective countries and many may face uphill battles, not least the United States as it tries to convince a sceptical Congress.

As the largest Asian economy included in the deal, it is little surprise Abe has touted the Atlanta agreement.

The Japanese premier has faced a torrid few months, with the country lurching back towards recession despite his “Abenomics” reforms and a backlash over the decision to abandon decades of pacifism to allow troops to fight abroad. 

“Without a success in TPP, the Abe government would have had very little to show in its fight for structural reforms,” Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute, told AFP.

Japanese carmakers hope for easier access to global markets. 

But Abe has infuriated the agricultural lobby, usually staunch supporters of his Liberal Democratic Party.

Although Japan secured exclusions for some domestically sensitive products, such as rice, sugar beet, beef, pork and dairy products, many farmers remain deeply critical of the TPP.

New Zealand also did not get everything it hoped for.

“We’re disappointed there wasn’t agreement to eliminate all dairy tariffs but overall it’s a very good deal for New Zealand,” Key said.

And while the deal grants Australia access to the lucrative US sugar market, cane growers were unhappy they will only be allowed to send an extra 65,000 tonnes of sugar.

The biggest loser, however, is likely to be Asia’s largest economy.

But Japan’s Abe said he hoped China would one day join the club.

“If China participates in this system in the future, that will contribute to both Japan’s security and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

Early industry reaction amounted to faint praise that it could have been worse and umbrage that the United States appeared to be the biggest winner.

Initial ambitions for the deal, aimed at liberalising commerce across nations accounting for 40 per cent of the world’s economy and covering an enormous range of products and services from kiwifruit to semiconductors, were clipped back in many areas to find agreement. 

Negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United States on a similar deal, which proponents say could deliver some $100 billion of economic gains, appear stalled as negotiators clash over issues ranging from chlorine-washed chicken to genetically modified products.

But European business organisations said the agreement among Pacific Rim countries could spur flagging talks between the 28-member bloc and Japan.

“With the conclusion of TPP we are now confident the EU might be closer to conclude ambitious agreements with Japan and the US,” European industry association BusinessEurope said in a statement.

New Zealand’s Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, said the deal was a “small but significant” step forward for the dairy sector but “entrenched” US protectionism meant it fell far short of its original ambition to eliminate all tariffs.

The politically influential Dairy Farmers of Canada highlighted financial losses, albeit mitigated by a “fair compensation package”.

Beef, sugar, rice, seafood and horticulture companies in Australia and New Zealand welcomed the increased access to Japanese markets thanks to tariff reductions under the deal.

“We should focus on the gains made in this agreement for Australian sugar, and not the success of the powerful US sugar lobby in maintaining their protectionist stance against bringing sugar into their deficit market,” said Dominic Nolan, chief executive of the Australian Sugar Milling Council.

Lost concessions

In India, there was concern that exports to the United States would suffer from the loss of zero-duty export concessions.

“If the deal is implemented, India’s exports of products like textile and leather will be severely affected,” said Abhijit Das, head of the Centre for WTO studies, a think-tank run by India’s ministry of commerce and industry.

He suggested the deal could nudge India into restarting negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the EU.

Among those expected to welcome the deal are US-based global e-commerce companies like Google and Uber , who will have restrictions removed on sales into foreign markets, including existing requirements that they establish local infrastructures.

The US Trade Representative office welcomed the “cutting-edge rules to promote internet-based commerce , a central area of American leadership”.

Australian Retailers Association Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said it was too early to say how those measures would affect local retailers but warned there was a risk of harm “unless barriers are also lifted for Australian retailers going overseas”.

Even in areas where the Obama administration compromised, such as cutting the monopoly period for new biologic drugs, companies were grudging in their welcome.

Osamu Nagayama, chairman and chief executive of Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which sells such drugs in the United States through Switzerland’s Roche, was grateful that the settlement didn’t drop below eight years as the protection period.

“That said, given the current research and development environment, shortening the data protection period would be challenging for the overall pharmaceutical industry,” he said.

AMMAN — Specialised Trading & Investments Company (STI) is returning JD1.2 million in cash to shareholders, describing the amount as unneeded excess funds.

The disbursement culminates a capital reduction by JD2.1 million, from JD3.1 million to JD1 million, that was previously approved by the general assembly of shareholders and the minister of industry and trade.

The company informed the Jordan Securities Commission in a disclosure that an announcement was published in Ad-Dustour Arabic daily on September 28, 2015, requesting investors who were in possession of STI shares on August 30, 2015, to contact its offices in Sweifieh to collect the money they are entitled to.

The general assembly agreed during an extraordinary session at the end of May 2015 to tap the voluntary reserve balance and write off JD45,422 of the company’s accumulated losses bringing it down to JD858,398.

The next step was to lower the capital to JD1 million from JD3.1 million, use JD858, 398 to write off the remaining losses, and return the JD1.2 million balance to approximately 250 shareholders.

According to the interim financial statements as of June 30, 2015, STI posted a JD57,069 gross profit generated from JD0.7 million in sales, during the first half of this year, down from JD72,277 registered during the same period of last year when sales were higher at JD0.9 million.

The company’s balance sheet showed total assets at JD2.6 million, JD1.4 million of which was cash and quasi money,  JD0.5 million were property, machinery and equipment and the remaining JD0.7 million were inventory and receivables. 

Chairman Munir Ahmad Al Quqa wrote in the annual report that the board of directors decided last year to build warehouses, stop trading in steel and substitute that by investing in other products with a suitable return.

In a foreword, he expressed hope that market conditions would improve in 2015 and that the company would achieve profit in the future, noting that STI ended 2014 with a JD253,516 loss.

The loss resulted after deducting expenses and provisions from the JD115,232 gross profit generated last year.

Although 2014 sales amounted to JD1.9 million,  26 per cent higher than the JD1.5 million posted at the end of 2013, the report attributed the slight decline in gross profit to the drop in steel prices and the disposal of steel inventory as the company shifted away from this commodity.

“The performance was affected by the continued fluctuation of steel prices in international markets during 2014 coupled with lower demand for steel in light of diminished economic and construction activity in the Kingdom,” the report said in mentioning the most important developments that impacted the company last year.

It added that the plan for 2015 was to look for other investment resources, build warehouses for storage, and increase the company’s local market share by boosting the sales volume of products that will be handled with a suitable rate of return.

Reflecting the business regression, the balance sheet as of December 2014 showed total inventory at JD0.3 million compared to JD0.5 million at the end of the previous year.

“Inventory represented 9 per cent of total assets at the end of 2014 compared to 17.5 per cent in 2013,” the report indicated.

It said that the 19.5 per cent fall in current assets from JD2.5 million to JD2 million was due to reduced stocks and other receivables.

Current liabilities stood at JD0.1 million, a 70.4 per cent fall from JD0.4 million at the end of 2013.

Consequently, total liabilities and shareholders equity dropped from JD3.1 million to JD2.6 million at the end of last year.

STI’s capital investment was calculated to be JD2.6 million as of December 31, 2014.

Ten employees worked at the company’s offices in Amman’s Sahab neighbourhood.

At the end of last year, the main STI shareholders were Al Salem Investments (23.3 per cent), Nadim Abdul Ahad Qattan (22.8 per cent),  Future Arab Investment Company (22 per cent), and Awni Al Saket and Partners Company (5.3 per cent).

AMMAN — Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali said Tuesday that Jordan works on enhancing economic partnerships with different countries through free trade agreements in order to contribute to increasing exports and stimulating investments in the Kingdom.

She was speaking at the start of bilateral meetings with her Belgian counterpart Cécile Jodogne, organised by the Amman Chamber of Commerce. Ali said Jordanian exports to Belgium are still modest, standing at $12 million during 2014 whereas imports were worth $223 million, which indicates the need for more Jordanian exports, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan succeeded in achieving significant progress during the past 15 years under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, Ali added, noting that legal, administrative and judiciary reforms were conducted intensively with a special focus on business environment.

The result of those policies is obvious from the increase of the gross domestic product significantly from $8.5 billion in 2000 to $35.8 billion in 2014 as well as other indications, Ali continued, referring to the Jordan’s 10-year economic and social development plan and the economic blueprint “Jordan 2025”.

Ali said this meeting allows the private sector in Jordan and Belgium to discover new chances and channels to boost economic relations.

AMMAN — Senator Mohammad Halaiqah has called for applying more flexible procedures in dealing with the Kingdom in terms of the international trade rules, due to the big regional challenges that led to Jordan’s loss to many main markets.

Heading the Jordanian delegation to the 2015 World Trade Forum, held in Geneva between September 25 and 26, Halaiqah called for extending the exemption period for Jordanian exports from taxes, in a way that would contribute to increasing the country’s exports.

Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen, agreed noting that the Netherlands will work within the European Union to increase its support to the Kingdom, a gesture that was also agreed by the Kenyan trade minister and the World Bank representative.

The delegation also participated in specialised workshops on parliaments’ roles in enhancing international trade and the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

ATLANTA — The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries have reached a deal on the most sweeping trade liberalisation pact in a generation but the accord on Monday faced initial skepticism in the US Congress.

In a deal that could reshape industries and influence everything from the price of cheese to the cost of cancer treatments, the 12 countries will cut trade barriers and set common standards. Details of the pact were emerging in statements by officials after days of marathon negotiations in Atlanta.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would affect 40 per cent of the world economy and stand as a legacy-defining achievement for US President Barack Obama, if it is ratified by Congress. Lawmakers in other TPP countries must also approve the deal.

Initial reaction from key US lawmakers was skeptical.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a US Democratic presidential candidate, said he was disappointed and warned the pact would cost US jobs and hurt consumers.

"Wall Street and other big corporations have won again," he indicated in a statement, vowing to "do all that I can to defeat this agreement" in Congress.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican, said he feared the TPP could fail to break down trade barriers for American-made products.

"While the details are still emerging, unfortunately I am afraid this deal appears to fall woefully short," Hatch added.

The TPP has been controversial because of the secret negotiations that have shaped it over the past five years and the perceived threat to interest groups from Mexican auto workers to Canadian dairy farmers.

Obama said the pact will "level the playing field" for American workers and businesses and added that Americans would have months to read the deal before he signs it into law.

Biotech compromise

The trade talks had snared on the question of how long a monopoly period should be allowed on next-generation biotech drugs, until the United States and Australia negotiated a compromise.

Although the complex deal sets tariff reduction schedules on hundreds of imported items from pork and beef in Japan to pickup trucks in the United States, the issue of the length of the monopolies awarded to the developers of new biological drugs had threatened to derail talks until the end.

Negotiating teams had been deadlocked over the question of the minimum period of protection to the rights for data used to make biologic drugs, made by companies including Pfizer Inc., Roche Group's Genentech and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

The United States had sought 12 years of protection to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in expensive biological treatments like Genentech's cancer treatment Avastin. Australia, New Zealand and public health groups had sought a period of five years to reduce drug costs and the burden on state-subsidised medical programmes.

Negotiators agreed on a compromise on minimum terms that was short of what US negotiators had originally sought and that through a two-track process would effectively grant biologic drugs a minimum period of 5 years and up to a minimum of 8 years, aiming to achieve a comparable outcome across both tracks, free from the threat of competition from generic versions.

A politically charged set of issues surrounding protections for dairy farmers was also addressed in the final hours of talks, officials said. New Zealand, home to the world's biggest dairy exporter, Fonterra, wanted increased access to US, Canadian and Japanese markets.

Separately, the United States, Mexico, Canada and Japan  agreed rules governing the auto trade that dictate how much of a vehicle must be made within the TPP region in order to qualify for duty-free status.

The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico mandates that vehicles have a local content of 62.5 per cent. The way that rule is implemented means that just over half of a vehicle needs to be manufactured locally. It has been credited with driving a boom in auto-related in investment in Mexico.

The TPP would give Japan's automakers, led by Toyota Motor Corp, a freer hand to buy parts from Asia for vehicles sold in the United States but sets long phase-out periods for US tariffs on Japanese cars and light trucks.

The deal being readied for expected announcement later Monday also provides minimum standards on issues ranging from workers' rights to environmental protection and sets up dispute settlement guidelines between governments and foreign investors separate from national courts.

AMMAN — The Jordan Insurance Federation (JOIF) and the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) are scheduled to organise on December 6 an Arab symposium on "Credit classification and institutional risk management" in the Dead Sea area.

Local, Arab and international lecturers and experts will participate in the pan-Arab event expected to attract around 150 participants representing administrators, financial managers and personnel of insurance companies, according to a JOIF statement.

The symposium's agenda include eight working papers spread over four sessions tackling two major aspects of credit classification, while the second aspect will deal with the institutional risk management.

AMMAN — Jordan and Romania on Saturday signed three documents aimed at promoting business opportunities in both countries to further enhance bilateral economic growth, Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali said Sunday.

During a meeting organised by the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) to discuss ways to enhance economic relations with Bucharest in the presence of a high ranking official Romanian delegation headed by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the minister added that two memoranda of understanding between both countries' private sectors were also signed.

The first aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation in the ICT field, and the second to devlop cooperation at the public sector level.

"We look at Romania as a gateway to European countries for Jordanian businesses and industries, and we look forward to fostering joint partnerships in areas of mutual interest," Ali told attendees who included representatives of commercial and industrial sectors from both countries.

JCC Chairman Nael Kabariti underlined the importance of the Romanian delegation's visit and expressed the Jordanian private sector's keenness on bolstering bilateral cooperation at the ICT, aviation, health, energy and bio-energy levels, among others.

Kabariti also voiced hope the Romanian government would solve visa issues for Jordanian businessmen, noting that a commercial delegation failed twice in receiving visas for business trips to the European country. 

Ponta expressed concern over the low level of economic relations between Jordan and Romania despite the good friendship ties on the political level, noting that some 30 years ago both countries had better commercial ties, especially at the industrial and agricultural levels.

"It is [the visit] a good opportunity to start again with developing relations, especially that Romania is now a member of the European Union and can open all the European market for Jordan," the premier said.

The prime minister added that Economy, Trade and Tourism Minister Mihai Tudose, who is a member of the current delegation, will be back in Amman in one month heading a delegation of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and businesspeople to further boost bilateral economic cooperation.

Regarding visa issues, Ponta promised to facilitate procedures for Jordanian businesspeople to apply to visas online and receive confirmations within 24 hours.

According to a JCC statement, made available to attendees, Jordanian national exports to Romania in 2013 reached around $6.11 million and increased by 14.4 per cent in 2014 to stand at $6.99 million.

The statement, based on figures from the Department of Statistics, showed that Romanian exports to the Kingdom in 2014 stood at $372.39 million, marking a 36.5 per cent increase in comparison with 2013, when Bucharest exports were worth $272.74 million.

Jordan's main exports to Romania include fresh and frozen vegetables, medicaments and skin care products, whereas major Romanian exports to the Kingdom include sheep, wood and paper, tubes and pipes and calcium carbide, the statement added.