CBJ expects better economic growth in 2nd half of 2021

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s economic growth is more likely to pick up in the second half of the year, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Adel Sharkas said on Thursday. 

During a virtual meeting hosted by the Jordan Strategies Forum, Sharkas said that growth is driven by the revenues from the tourism sector that hit $2.4 billion during the first 11 months, marking a growth rate of 78 per cent. 

Highlighting the positive indicators, he said that imports also increased by 13.6 per cent during the first three quarters, in addition to the higher remittances by Jordanian expatriates. 

The CBJ foreign reserves have reached $17.1 billion, which is sufficient to cover the Kingdom’s imports of goods and services for nine months, Sharkas said.