Investor confidence drops in June

AMMAN — Jordan Investor Confidence Index dropped in June by 3.11 points to 92.58 points, compared with 95.69 points in May 2016.

The monthly-issued index, published by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF), seeks to measure the confidence of investors operating in the Jordanian market.

All three sub-indices witnessed declines in June 2016. Firstly, confidence in the monetary system sub-index dropped 0.64 points from 92.58 points in May 2016 to 91.94 points in June 2016.The drop was attributed to a slight decrease in the Central Bank of Jordan foreign reserves, which reached JD12,062 million in June.

The sub-index of confidence in the real economy dropped by 0.9 points, reaching 102.67 points compared to 103.57 points in the previous month, according to a JSF statement. 

The number of companies registered went down to 404 from 550 in May despite an increase in the total capital of registered companies, which reached JD8.4 million in June, the statement indicated

Moreover, the manufacturing quantity production index dropped by 3.89 points to reach 163.2 points, down from167.09 points in May 2016. 

This drop was mainly attributed to decreases in the production index for the mining and quarrying sector, as well as the manufacturing sector. This was accompanied by decreasing construction activity, as the number of construction permits dropped by 18 per cent. Total tax collected on real estate also dropped.

The sub-index of confidence in the Amman Stock Exchange dropped by 1.57 points to settle at 97.97 points in June, and this was attributed to a decline in shares bought by foreign investors to JD0.92 million from JD1.8 million.