Business

TUNIS — Tunisia's tourism-dependent economy, badly affected by two deadly jihadist attacks on foreign tourists this year, has been helped along by olive oil and date exports.

The North African country's economy has "avoided the worst" this year thanks to a drop in global oil prices and a sharp increase in "olive oil and date exports," Finance Minister Slim Chaker said at the end of last week.

Olive oil exports reached 300,000 tonnes by the end of last month, bringing in an estimated 1.9 billion dinars (850 million euros, $975 million) compared to less than 500 million dinars for the whole of last year, according to the agriculture ministry.

Some 100,000 tonnes of dates were exported by the end of September, generating revenue of 462 million dinars compared to 380 million dinars for the whole of 2014, the ministry's Aniss Ben Rayana indicated.

Tunisia's economy has remained stagnant since the 2011 popular uprising that toppled dictator Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali.

The finance ministry has forecast just 0.5 per cent growth this year, half the figure for last year.

Tunisia based its draft budget on projected growth of 2.5 per cent next year, just half of growth mentioned in a recent development plan for 2016-20.

The country's key tourism sector, which contributes 10 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), has been badly shaken by an attack on foreign tourists at the National Bardo Museum in the capital in March and a beachside massacre near the coastal city of Sousse in June.

Losses in the tourism were projected at $515 million or more for 2015 after the Sousse attack

The number of visitors from Europe has been halved since January, and several international chains are to close their hotels over the winter season.

An industry official said Sunday that at least 70 hotels have closed in Tunisia since September after the two attacks on foreign tourists, and more are expected to follow suit.

"The situation is very sluggish," Radhouane Ben Salah, the head of the Tunisian Federation of Hotels, told private Mosaique FM radio.

With reservations at "no more than 20 per cent, 70 hotels had to close since September because the lack of clients and more are expected to do the same," he said.

Ben Salah expected unemployment to climb as hotel staff would be forced out of work.

Joblessness already stands at nearly 30 per cent, with the number even higher among youths, and one in six Tunisians lives below the poverty line.

The country's key tourism sector contributes to 10 per cent of the gross domestic product, and employs 400,000 people, directly or indirectly.

But it has been badly shaken by attacks on foreign tourists.

Ben Salah said hotel owners and the government had agreed to look after employees who would be forced out of work.

He indicated that the government would provide them with a 200-dinar monthly subsidy (around 90 euros, $102) and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period.

This summer, Tunisia's tourism industry relied mainly on local holidaymakers or those from the region, namely from neighbouring Algeria.

Several countries evacuated their citizens from Tunisia after the beachside massacre in June and others, including Britain, have warned against travel to the North African nation.

Thirty of the 38 tourists killed in June near Sousse were British.

Tunisia, which hopes to reduce its public deficit by 3.9 per cent in 2016, announced last month that it would ask the International Monetary Fund for a new aid package at least equal to a $1.7 billion credit line granted in 2013.

Tunisia now will need $1.53 billion, or 3 billion dinars, in external financing for 2016, Chaker said.

"Our total needs in 2016 will be 6 billion dinar, including 3 billion dinar from external loans," Chaker told reporters. "We expect next year to launch a delayed sukuk Islamic financing bond for 1 billion dinar."

Inflation is forecast to slow to 4 per cent next year from the 4.5 per cent expected in 2015.

Energy subsidies will decline from 850 million dinar this year to 550 million dinar next year. As part of a plan to ease fuel subsidies gradually, Chaker said, Tunisia will begin a new system of automatic adjustments to petrol prices.

International lenders want more economic reforms to match its political progress.

AMMAN — Evolving into a mega-business conglomerate is now a momentous ambition sought by Jordan Masaken for Land & Industrial Development Projects, known as Masaken Capital.

According to a disclosure sent last week to the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC), the company aims to broaden its real estate development, build up investments and bolster growth in services.

Such extensive plans and strategies will be complemented by acquiring influential stakes in financial establishments and businesses that provide services, and by forging strategic partnerships with major international corporations, Masaken Capital indicated in the disclosure.

“This enlargement seeks to establish a mammoth economic body that would contribute to support the national economy and be capable of creating rewarding job opportunities for the youth and of attracting local, regional and international investments,” it said.

The disclosure added that the board of directors discussed the interest expressed by many Jordanian, Arab and foreign investors as well as companies and investment funds to join in the suggested enlargement and the capability of the company to utilise the proposed capital in economically feasible projects in light of the opportunities available locally, regionally and internationally.

“As a result, the board of directors decided to invite the shareholders to an extraordinary general assembly meeting on November 7,” the company continued.

The board is recommending that the capital of Masaken Capital be raised from JD12.24 million to JD700 million, with the JD687.76 million increase be in cash and in kind allocated to foreign and strategic investors and the company’s shareholders.

Another disclosure informed the JSC that there was nothing significant to justify the surge in the share price of the company other than the announcement to increase capital and expand operations, and to open regional offices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The share price of Jordan Masaken closed at JD4.840 at the end of last week, noting that the price from 2010 until 2014 averaged JD0.650.

Jordan Masaken’s 6th annual report showed a series of losses over the past six years. The losses at the end of 2013 accumulated to JD5.8 million, an amount that was written off by reducing the capital from JD18 million to JD12.2 million.

Losses in later years until the end of June 30, 2015 accumulated to JD0.6 million.

Mid-year 2015 financial statement revealed that of the JD14.4 million in total assets, JD13.2 million were net real estate investments which include Al Haitham Commercial Complex, a multi storey building valued at JD1.5 million.

At present, the company employs eight persons and generates most of its earnings from Al Haitham Commercial Complex which is owned by by Al Hijaz Masaken for Real Estate Investment and Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jordan Masaken.

Other subsidiaries under Jordan Masaken include Al Serou Masaken for Investment and Real Estate Development (100.00 per cent), Green Masaken for Investment and Trade (100.00 per cent), Luxury Masaken for Investment and Real Estate Development (100.00 per cent), Amman Masaken for Real Estate Development (100.00 per cent), Masaken Balaama for Real Estate Development (100.00 per cent) and Masaken Academy Company for Financial Consulting & Training (100.00 per cent).

The other item of importance in the mid-year balance sheet was JD2.3 million in short and long-term bank credit facilities against a hypothecation on Al Haitham Commercial Complex.       

The 6th annual report set the company’s capital investment at JD13.4 million and mentioned that the highest risk facing the company was lower demand for developed lands and other real estate projects.

“There is also the possibility that demand for commercial office rentals declines within  the commercial complex owned by the company because there is a large number of commercial compounds available for rent in Amman,” the report said.

It added that due to the general slowdown in the Jordanian economy, the company will reduce these risks through investment diversification, strategic partnerships and broadening  income resources.  

Earlier this month, the company announced that Hasan Abdullah Ismaik bought 4,535,000 shares, representing 37.05 per cent of its equity and that he was elected board chairman.

The second largest shareholder, according to latest data, was Mohammed Abdullah Rashed Saeed Al Thaheri who owned 2,631,497 shares or 21.5 per cent of the capital.

Kifah Ahmad Mustafa Al Maharmeh came in third with a 13.69 per cent stake, or 1,675,886 shares.

Ismaik, the former chief executive officer of Dubai’s Arabtech,  plans to hire banks for a secondary equity listing next year, he told Reuters last week.

Masaken Capital will hire an international investment bank, “the likes of JP Morgan or Deutsche Bank, and a local Jordanian bank like Arab Bank” to advise on a listing in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, Ismaik said.

The offering will involve new shares, he added, without specifying what percentage of the company’s shares would be sold in the secondary offer, noting that one of the “big four” accountancy firms would be hired soon to advise on the procedure.

Masaken will also soon announce a “big” acquisition in the UAE, Ismaik said to Reuters, declining to provide further details.

The Jordanian businessman resigned from Dubai-listed Arabtec in June 2014 amid rumours of a fallout between him and Abu Dhabi state-owned Aabar Investments, which holds a significant stake in the Dubai contractor.

Ismaik, who still retains an 11.8 per cent shareholding in Arabtec according to bourse data, said there would be no conflict of interest between his ownership in Arabtec and his new position at Masaken.

AMMAN — Citi announced Saturday in a press statement that it has extended  a Jordanian dinar loan, equivalent to $3 million, to Tamweelcom, a renowned microfinance institution in the Middle East and North Africa region, to support the economic advancement of its entrepreneur clients and the expansion of the microfinance sector in Jordan.

"This loan is Citi’s third to Tamweelcom, and is part of the global partnership between Citi Inclusive Finance and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the US government’s development finance institution, to jointly provide funding to microfinance institutions in emerging markets," the statement said. 

Citi Inclusive Finance works across Citi businesses globally to develop solutions that enable the bank, its clients and partners to expand access to financial services and advance economic progress in underserved market segments.

“Through this partnership, Tamweelcom hopes to support its growing number of clients and develop its outreach,” said Ziad Al Refai, executive director of Tamweelcom. Mayank Malik, chief executive officer Citibank NA Jordan & Iraq, said: “This transaction leverages Citi’s global network, including our long-term partnership with OPIC, as well as Tamweelcom's strength to deliver much needed access to long-term credit in Jordan, hence enhancing the Kingdom's financial inclusion.” 

SHANGHAI — The number of billionaires in China has overtaken that of the United States for the first time, an annual survey said Thursday, calling it a "turning point" for the super-wealthy.

Communist-ruled China now has 596 billionaires, up a "staggering" 242 over the last year, Shanghai-based luxury magazine publisher Hurun Report indicated, surpassing the 537 Americans.

"The world used to look to American entrepreneurs... for inspiration. This year, 2015, is a turning point," Hurun Report Chairman Rupert Hoogewerf told AFP. "This is the first year we've seen they've been eclipsed. They are being overtaken by Chinese, and not just a little bit." 

The number of Chinese billionaires would increase to 715 if those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were included, the survey pointed out.

"In 2015, the entrepreneurs are Chinese, they are not American. We have American ones, but the king is Chinese," Hoogewerf said.

Real estate and entertainment magnate Wang Jianlin dethroned founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Jack Ma as the country's richest person, Hurun's annual wealth ranking showed.

Wang, who founded conglomerate Wanda, saw his fortune jump more than 50 per cent to $34.4 billion, helped by a surge in the stock price of a listed unit.

Wang is known outside China for a string of overseas acquisitions including the organiser of Ironman extreme endurance contests, Swiss sports marketing group Infront, and a stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid.

He burst into the spotlight in 2012 by buying US cinema chain AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion.

Wang took the top spot back from Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, because of a collapse in the Internet company's New York-quoted shares, which were the world's biggest initial public offering when it listed last year. Ma's wealth still stands at $22.7 billion.

Beverage tycoon Zong Qinghou of Wahaha remained in third place with just over $21 billion while Pony Ma, founder of Internet giant Tencent which operates popular messaging app WeChat, took fourth place with a little under $19 billion.

Lei Jun of smartphone maker Xiaomi, which is seeking to challenge Apple, jumped five places to fifth by doubling his wealth to more than $14 billion.

Yan Hao of road builder China Pacific Construction was sixth while the founder of search engine giant Baidu, Robin Li, dropped to seventh amid worries over his company's huge spending to expand its business.

"Despite the slowdown in the economy, China's richest have defied gravity, recording their best year ever," Hoogewerf said in a statement.

LONDON — The three biggest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) of oil-producing countries have been selling European equity holdings since May, a study showed this week, another sign of petrodollars being withdrawn from world markets.

Asian funds have meanwhile continued to add European equities, according to the data from Nasdaq Advisory Services, which provides analysis on shareholder and investor activity.

Since May, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has sold $1.2 billion worth of equities across Nasdaq’s European client base. That accounts for 13 per cent of its $9.2 billion holdings in the European companies tracked by Nasdaq.

Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management has sold $1.1 billion, around 2 per cent of the $57.5 billion market value of its holdings, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has cut some $300 million worth of shares from its $3.6 billion holding.

“Over 2015, the three largest oil-dependent SWFs have all been reducing their equity holdings in the region, with this trend accelerating over the second quarter and into the third quarter of the year,” indicated Alexander Free, an analyst with Nasdaq’s Advisory Services.

The data is based on a sample of 159 European companies, with a market value of $1.87 trillion, Nasdaq says. They range from retail and telecoms shares to financials and utilities.

Falling oil prices, Brent crude is over 60 per cent cheaper since summer 2014, are pressuring oil producers to rein in spending or liquidate assets.

Recycling

Energy-exporting countries pulled money out of world markets last year for the first time in almost two decades, halting the “recycling” of oil windfalls, BNP Paribas has said.

This year exporters will use up the $750 billion earned from oil and also dip into central bank and sovereign warchests for an additional $100 billion, according to a JPMorgan (JPM) study.

Bond purchases by sovereign and foreign exchange reserve managers will decline by $90 billion between 2014 and 2015 while equity buying will fall $200 billion, JPM indicated in a note.

Saudi Arabia’s central bank, which serves as the wealth fund of the world’s top oil exporter, has been drawing down its reserves since late 2014. Its net foreign assets fell by $6.6 billion in August as investments were liquidated to plug a budget gap.

“It’s a pretty dire situation,” Free said.

Norway is expected to make a net withdrawal from its sovereign wealth fund this year for the first time since the SWF was set up, to help pay for tax cuts designed to stimulate the economy. Its $830 billion fund is the world’s largest, holding about 1.3 per cent of global stocks.

Their withdrawal from markets may be partly offset by energy importers, however, with JPM estimating that oil savings would lead to “a positive flow change” of $90 billion for bonds and $30 billion for equities.

The Nasdaq report showed that the three biggest non-commodity-driven sovereign funds have been net buyers of European equities, particularly China’s SAFE, which holds about $35.6 billion worth of the Nasdaq sample.

SAFE started buying heavily in Europe from the first quarter of 2015, acquiring $2.1 billion of the shares tracked by Nasdaq. 

Singapore’s Temasek and GIC have also acquired a combined $1.1 billion of European equities so far this year, Free indicated.

He suggested their interest may stem from a search for better valuations as US equity prices surged to pre-crisis levels, while the European Central Bank’s money-printing programme also lent support.

AMMAN — Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a renowned Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturer, announced on Tuesday in a press statement that it held a cornerstone laying ceremony at the site of its new headquarters in Bayader Wadi Al Seer. 

"The new headquarters, scheduled for completion by early 2018, aims at underscoring the company’s recent rapid expansion and growth," the statement said. 

Greater Amman Municipality Mayor Aqel Biltaji headed the ceremony which was attended by Said Darwazah, chairman and chief executive officer; Mazen Darwazah, vice chairman, president and chief executive officer of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and emerging markets, Mazen Darwazah, members of the board as well as the executive team, in addition to media representatives. 

"Selected by Hikma founder, Samih Darwazah, before his passing, the building’s design represents his vision for the company and his unrelenting pursuit of continuous growth and expansion," the statement added.

As part of the ceremony, Khalil Fakhoury from Dar Al Handasah Group, the new headquarters’ designers and consultants, gave a presentation on the project and its structural phases. 

Emerging as one of the few green buildings in Jordan, the new headquarters will boast innovative green technology in efforts to increase the efficiency with which resources such as water and energy are used in order to minimise negative environmental effects. 

“Since its foundation almost 40 years ago, Hikma Pharmaceuticals has been guided by Samih Darwazah, towards the forefront of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry,” commented Mazen Darwazah. 

“Having experienced a period of rapid growth around the world, we’re delighted to be laying the cornerstone of our new world-class headquarters, from which we will continue to deliver on our mission to improve people’s lives. In line with our commitment towards environmental conservation, we’re looking forward to having a green headquarters, which takes us one step further in our ongoing efforts to increase our reliance on renewable energy,” he said.

AMMAN — Ubour Logistics Services is functioning at a loss as operational expenses and depreciation outstrip the company's earnings.

According to mid-year and annual financial statements, revealed in disclosures to the Jordan Securities Commission, Ubour's financial performance was in the red at the end of June 2015, June 2014 and the end of last year and 2013.

As a result, accumulated losses reached JD1.3 million at the end of June 2015, with the independent auditor indicating that the company was under weak liquidity as its current liabilities exceeded current assets by JD374,135 as of June 30, 2015.

As a Jordan-based company engaged in the field of land transportation, the company offers several types of logistics and truck transportation services for general cargo, foodstuff, commodity, cars and vehicles and containers. It employed 23 workers at the end of last year.

The auditor, Int'l Professional Bureau Consulting & Auditing, said in a report to the shareholders that it was not given  confirmations for the receivable amounts owed to the company from commercial debtors and for payables due to business creditors.

Moreover, the auditor did not receive confirmations for related party transactions involving not only payable amounts, but also receivables that have been carried forward from previous years and for which a JD82,723 provision has been taken.

Int'l Professional Bureau Consulting & Auditing added that it was unable to assess the fair value of an investment in Al Ahlia Enterprises covering 85,276 shares estimated at JD91,755 because trading in Al Ahlia shares was suspended in 2010.

"Ubour did not appraise its vehicles and we could not verify the fair value of trucks and trailers," the auditor wrote in the report, noting as well that the company did not acquire the title of vehicles which were purchased through a finance lease contract that expired on December 28, 2013.

This issue was raised during a general assembly meeting in May when a  shareholder inquired about the developments of a lawsuit filed by Ubour against Al Faouri Trading Company.

Ubour's legal counsellor told the general assembly that a lawsuit was filed against 14 former members of the company's board of directors accusing them of abuse of office, manipulating and squandering the funds of public shareholding companies and shareholders, dereliction of duties and reckless management.

He said the lawsuit was still under review and covered the following four issues:

— Buying trucks at manipulated and unreal prices and transferring money to the agent without being in hold of the trucks

— Investing and managing the surplus liquidity in a way that led to considerable loss

— Losses that ensued from the loan obtained from the Comprehensive Leasing Company

— An agreement for supplying truck spare parts and cancelling it afterwards without retrieving  the value of the agreement and the cheques that were written in favour of suppliers. 

Responding to a request for clarification about the exemption from customs granted to the company and the number of trucks entirely owned by Ubour, Vice Chairman Nidal Azar replied that the exemption had expired  and that a request was submitted to the Jordan Investment Commission for its renewal.

Azar said that out of 30 trucks owned by Ubour, only 18 were running as the remaining 12 were inoperative needing costly gearboxes.

"Why not sell the trucks and shift to another business?," asked another shareholder, Majd Jalal Abbasi.

The vice chairman answered that it was very difficult to sell the trucks in the local market because spare parts were not available, noting also that the trucks were subject to the investment promotion law.

Abbasi countered that the trucks can be sold abroad and expressed readiness to help in such a sale.

The company described competition as very tough mentioning in the 2014 annual report that it competes with specialised firms and that about 16,000 trucks, most privately owned, operated in the Kingdom.

"Most of those trucks run on the Amman-Aqaba-Amman route  to transport all kinds of Jordan's imports and that causes stiff competition in determining transport charges," the report said.

It noted that a slight improvement in transport charges occurred at the end of 2013 due to economic and political reasons surrounding the Kingdom.

Even so, the company indicated that the decision of the Transport Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Transport limiting, to a maximum of nine, the number of monthly journeys per truck to and from Aqaba and applying  the queuing system in Aqaba Port affected its transport earnings.

The report showed that Ubour relied 100 per cent on Al Hamaydeh Transport Company to operate its trucks.

"The company contracted a domestic operator to run the trucks in exchange for JD1,320 monthly per truck," it said. "Under an agreement with the same party, a JD60,000 was to be spent on maintaining the trucks and keeping them in operation."

But, the report added, the maintenance could not be achieved as hoped for because spare parts were not available locally and had to bought from the Isuzu agent in Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, Ubour's management aims to enhance the performance of the company with new trucks in order to double income and try to lower losses as much as possible.

"The management looks to higher profitability through renewing current operations contract and securing new transport deals," it continued. 

Financially, Ubour's balance sheet as of June 30, 2015, showed net property and equipment at JD1.8 million out of JD2 million in total assets.

Notes accompanying the balance sheet also showed that the company was sued for JD92,400 and that shares within the company's portfolio of financial assets were under lien.

At the end of 2014, Abbasi, Azar, Mohammed Marwan Al Haddad, and Waheed Khalil Fazaa' were the main Ubour shareholders.

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce's (ACC) board of directors and Pafos Mayor Phedon Phedonos on Tuesday discussed ways to develop commercial and investment relations between Jordan and Cyprus at the private sector level.

At a meeting, held at the ACC headquarters, both sides discussed the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement between ACC and its peer in Pafos on the sidelines of a scheduled visit of the Cypriot president to Jordan next month.

They also discussed marketing Jordanian products and services in Cyprus to enhance the trade exchange volume, especially that the Kingdom has several goods of high quality and technical standards, in addition to discussing cooperation in the fields of energy and natural gas.

ACC President Issa Murad called for increasing the trade exchange volume between the two countries, noting that Jordan's imports from Cyprus during the first seven months of this year stood at JD6 million, while the Kingdom's exports to the European island were very little.

Jordan has several products and services that can cover the needs of the Cypriot market, such as medicines, phosphate, potash, fertilisers and Dead Sea products, he noted.

The ACC president also called for establishing joint investment projects, stressing that the Kingdom's political and security stability enhances investors' trust in the business environment, which provides a lot of incentives for businesspeople. 

Phedonos noted that there are a lot of Jordanian investors in Pafos and they enjoy all necessary support and facilities, stressing the importance of attracting investors from Pafos to Jordan to have mutual relations with reciprocal benefits. 

It is essential for Jordan and Pafos to sign an agreement to avoid dual taxation, noting that his city is a signatory to such agreements with 55 countries, the city mayor added.

He also referred to a visit by a Cypriot business delegation to the Kingdom on November 9, in synchronisation with the Cypriot president visit, to hold meetings with Jordanian counterparts to enhance commercial exchange between the two countries. 

AMMAN — Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone executives on Monday offered Jordanian investors and businesses the opportunity to start operations at the zone.

The executives met with over 100 Jordanian investors and businesspeople, and reviewed with them  investment opportunities in the zone. 

Ramy Jallad, acting chief executive officer of Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority, said the potential is high for attracting investors from Jordan to open companies in the zone, which offers a wide variety of incentives and facilities.

At present,  more than 8,500 companies registered in the zone operate in 50 different fields that include industry, services, IT, commerce, consultations, among others.

Of the total , there are about 250 Jordanian companies whose businesses include  garment, export and import services, IT, general services, among others, Jallad told reporters Monday.

There are also 250 Jordanian companies that also operate outside the zone, said Jallad.

Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, chairman of the RAS Al Khaimah Investment Authority, highlighted the incentives offered by the zone, stressing that attracting more investments will help increase the $1 billion annual trade exchange between Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Al Qasimi emphasised that there is a large room for increased economic cooperation between the two sides.

Reviewing benefits of starting businesses in the zone, Al Qasimi said cost of living in Ras Al Khaimah is at least 25 per cent less than in other emirates in the UAE. In addition, there are exemptions from taxes in the country.

The UAE, he said, is signatory to several agreements with several countries across the world to avoid double taxation.

Al Qasimi added that the cost of starting a business in the zone is 25-50 per cent less than that in other zones in the UAE.

Noting that  the zone was created in 2000, he described it as one of the fastest growing zones in the UAE.

Also Monday, the authority signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordan Chamber of Commerce to enhance cooperation between the zone and the chamber, and holding regular mutual meetings to further deepen ties.

The memorandum of understanding also includes holding joint activities for promoting investments.

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad on Monday called for benefiting from the "fruitful" results of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Jordan in the economic, commercial and investment fields.

 Murad also highlighted the importance of investing the visit to develop current relations between Jordan and India which date back to six decades, adding it is important to build on the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed during the visit to move to a strategic cooperation. 

Amman and New Delhi has established "excellent" economic relations over the past decades, which can be seen in the trade exchange volume which annually reaches around $2 billion.

Mukherjee's visit to the Kingdom is really important, especially that India is a significant commercial partner to Jordan and the biggest importer of local phosphate and potash, Murad said, noting that Indian investments in the Kingdom exceeds $2 billion. 

He referred to the tourism, education, fabrics, fertilisers, phosphate and potash sectors as main fields both countries can cooperate on, in addition to Jordan's opportunity to benefit from India's ICT sector. 

The ACC president referred to His Majesty King Abdullah's affirmations during the meeting with Mukherjee, where he called for facilitating the procedures for Jordanian exports to penetrate the Indian market and establishing joint projects in fertilisers, ICT, pharmaceuticals and defence industries.

Inaugurating the Jordan India Fertilisers Company (JIFCO) in Eshidiya is a proof of profound partnership between the two countries, which was also seen in launching a joint scheme between the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited and the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, he added. 

His Majesty and the Indian president on Saturday inaugurated JIFCO Phosphoric Acid Complex at Eshidiya, which is considered the biggest comprehensive unit to produce this acid in the world with a total investment volume of $800 million.

In 2014, the trade exchange volume between the two countries reached JD1.33 billion, while in the first half of 2015, it stood at JD640 million, Murad added.

Compound fertilisers and raw phosphate are Jordan's major exports to India, while food stuff, leather, fabrics, meat and agricultural products are main imports for Jordan from India.