Gov’t ready with measures to facilitate doing business

AMMAN — The Council of Ministers on Sunday endorsed the first set of measures as part of an action plan aimed at easing doing business in Jordan and thus stimulating the national economy, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Planning and International cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury said his ministry and the ministerial economic development committee would oversee the execution of the decisions during the upcoming months with the aim of stimulating the national economy's growth in accordance with Jordan Vision 2025 and the government's action plan.

The Cabinet instructed ministries and concerned authorities to implement the measures immediately, warning of consequences in case they fail to do their part of the job. 

The first set includes decisions aimed at improving the business environment, through amending regulations governing the issuance of construction licences, starting trade activity, registering property, borrowing, insolvency and bankruptcy-related procedures, investor protection, tax collection and execution of contracts, Fakhoury said. 

He said there would be more decisions connected to the Royal Committee for Reforming the Judiciary and Enhancing the Rule of Law related to the execution of contracts and litigation proceedings pertaining to business and investment activities.

The measures were likely to contribute to improving Jordan’s ranking in significant international indexes that are consulted  by investors before they take their business decisions. 

A key aspect of the process is a genuine partnership with the Parliament, the minister said, noting that legislators are currently working to wrap up different pieces of legislation necessary to accomplish the mission at hand, including bills governing securities, insolvency and bankruptcy, transfer of assets and real estate ownership, among others. 

All these regulations and laws will contribute to improving the business environment and facilitate establishing companies and small enterprises for Jordanian youth to practice business, boost economy’s capacity to create jobs for Jordanians and enhance competitiveness, according to Fakhoury.

Among the specific measures, the planning minister said that regarding the starting of a trade activity, work will focus on enabling exchange of data online to be accessed by stakeholders. 

Procedures of establishing business will be paperless, the minister explained, all procedures will be done online, while the requirement of licenced profession-practicing to start an enterprise has been cancelled. 

A similar online interconnectivity feature will also be helpful in land ownership registration, as a network will engage the Department of Lands and Survey and the Greater Amman Municipality, while property registration will be done online. 

As for obtaining credit, there will be urgent executive measures in the case a borrower defaults on debts, relying on new methods of documentation.  

A unified and comprehensive law for insolvency will be enacted as well as a modern system to regulate corporate businesses, Fakhoury said, adding that to protect investors, an independent commission will be involved in approving investment applications.

Regarding tax and other payments, including social security subscriptions, electronic deposits and payment systems will be in place to ease the process, according to the official.