APC chief underlines private sector's role in social development

AMMAN — The Arab Potash Company (APC) President and CEO Maen Nsour on Tuesday highlighted the role of the private sector in protecting the national security, as well as achieving economic and social development through boosting growth rates and reducing poverty.

Speaking during a lecture titled “The Role of Private Sector in National Security” at the Royal Jordanian National Defence College (RJNDC), Nsour attached importance to improving the performance of the private sector.

On the impact of the private sector on the Kingdom’s macroeconomic performance, Nsour  said that the private sector contributes by around 60 per cent of GDP, out of which 2.9 per cent in the construction sector, 3.6 per cent in the electricity and water sector, 5.6 per cent in  the agriculture sector, 6.6 per cent in the sector of personal and social services, 8.7 per cent in the telecommunications and transport sector, 9.7 per cent in trade and restaurants sector and 22.4 per cent in  the financial services, real estate and business.

Nearly two-thirds of the Jordanian workforces, 70 per cent, are private sector workers, as the private sector provides some 1.135 million jobs, as well as generates half of the new jobs in the Kingdom’s economy, he said.

The private sector is the main source of increasing individuals’ wealth, particularly joint stock companies whose market value exceeded the value of GDP in several years but fell to JD5,14 billion between 2019 and 2020, according to Nsour.

Reviewing APC’s role in supporting the governemnt’s efforts towards preserving the national security, Nsour said that Jordan's leading mining company, by the end of the third quarter of 2020, transferred nearly JD43 million to the Treasury, including JD24 million as taxes and JD 7.6 million as mining fees.

He added that the APC’s donations in 2020, as part of its social responsibility, reached nearly JD30 million, made to support the Kingdom’s health system and hard-hit sectors by the pandemic through Himmat Watan Fund.

At the external level, APC sales constituted 9.6 per cent of the Kingdom’s exports during the first seven months of 2020, he added, noting that throughout the last 10 years, the company’s sales accounted for 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s exports.

The APC is a major supporter for the foreign currency reserve, with the company's contribution amounted to $497.3 million, he added.