Foreign direct investment in Jordan grew by two percent in 2020 to about 497 million dinars, said Acting Head of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) Faridoun Hartouqa, citing Central Bank estimates.
Hartouqa told the First Jordanian Economic Expatriate conference, which was held online by the Jordanian Expatriate Association Platform, that the volume of investment projects benefiting from the JIC law increased in 2020 by 26.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2019.
Up to 376 investment projects with a total value of 618.4 million dinars and a projected employment volume of about 24,000 job opportunities, had benefited from the law in 2020, he added.
Hartouqa said that several international indicators pointed to an improvement in the investment environment in the Kingdom, as Jordan was listed among the 10 most reform-implementing countries in the world in the 2020 Ease of Doing Business report of the World Bank Group.
Jordan was also among the top 3 countries in the world with an improvement in the ease of doing business, in addition to advancing nine spots in the 2021 World Competitiveness Yearbook, issued by the International Institute for Management Development, achieving 49th globally, and fourth in the Arab world, he added.
Hartouqa highlighted key reforms carried out by the government to improve Jordan's competitiveness in attracting foreign capital, in addition to investment opportunities and competitiveness report prepared by the commission, where more than 80 promising and attractive investment opportunities were launched in various sectors across the Kingdom.
He stressed that the commission attached special care to Jordanian expatriates and providing them with the necessary facilities.
The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $500 million Program to catalyze public and private investment in Jordan for a green and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program is expected to help Jordan accelerate its recovery and create more jobs by capitalizing on the economy’s potential, especially its green growth opportunities, and to strengthen the Government’s accountability mechanisms for delivery.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is also preparing an additional $250 million in financing to support the Program.
The Inclusive, Transparent and Climate Responsive Investments Program-for-Results (PforR) is part of the US$1.1 billion recently announced by the World Bank Group (WBG) in combined loans and grant financing support from the WBG and international partners to support Jordan in responding to the pandemic and promoting an early, climate-resilient, and inclusive recovery.
