Investment fund to launch company before year-end

AMMAN — The company affiliated with the Jordan Investment Fund (JIF) is expected to start operating before the end of the year, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Jawad Anani said Saturday.

Anani, who is also minister of industry, trade and supply, said the completion of the arrangements to establish the firm is expected in October, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At a meeting organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan, the deputy premier said the company will attract local, Arab and foreign capitals to implement several strategic projects, calling on the private sector to contribute the largest portion possible in the planned investment. He noted that the government’s job is to legislate and regulate, not to invest. 

Under a law enacted to govern the work of the JIF, the fund has the right to possess, invest and develop the following projects: the national railway network, the electricity interconnectivity project with Saudi Arabia, the pipeline to transfer crude oil and fuel derivatives to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, and consumption and storage points, developing infrastructure at the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines City project and a recreational estate project in Matal in Aqaba, in addition to any other projects that the Cabinet approves, based on a recommendation from the fund’s board of directors.

The law stipulates that the fund’s board of directors is to be headed by the prime minister, with members including ministers of planning and international cooperation, finance, energy and industry, trade and supply, in addition to three members chosen by the Cabinet.

Speaking on investment in the Kingdom, Anani said that the country has lost much time, underlining the need for funding projects on the drawing board. He added that Jordan is looking forward to the Arab countries’ contribution to the JIF, especially Saudi Arabia, noting that the law was in the first place enacted to serve this purpose. 

The fund was initially set up following an agreement to establish the Saudi-Jordanian Coordination Council earlier this year, with reports of Saudi plans to invest billions in the fund, which offers a special package of incentives to investors.

The council has not met yet and the government of Hani Mulki launched a campaign to lure local investors to buy stakes in the company to be established, with focus on banks, where customer deposits are estimated at JD32 billion.

American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan President Mohammad Bataineh reiterated the importance of cooperating with the government to address regional and international challenges and to enable the private sector to further contribute to economic growth, Petra added.

Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat, US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells, CEOs of companies and representatives of chambers of commerce and industry also attended the meeting.