'Gov't working out details of projected national investment fund

AMMAN — A ministerial team is currently working on the economic and legal details that will govern the core structure of the national investment fund proposed by His Majesty King Abdullah, a senior official said on Saturday.

"The ministerial team is working on coming up with a formula for the fund that would achieve His Majesty's vision to attract investments for different projects in Jordan," Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani told The Jordan Times over the phone.

In his speech from the Throne at the beginning of the 17th Parliament's ordinary session last year, the King directed the government to present a draft law for an investment fund to implement national development projects that benefit the economy and those who contribute to the fund.

“This fund should attract investments from banks, Arab sovereign wealth funds, private sector enterprises and individuals, targeting national developmental and pioneering projects that yield benefits to the national economy as well as those contributing to the fund,” His Majesty said.

Experts from different economic fields have praised the idea of establishing such a fund to push the Kingdom's development process forward, but highlighted their concerns over its mechanism of operation.

In a round-table discussion organised by Al Rai Centre for Studies late last year, economists underscored that the fund should enjoy certain characteristics in order to achieve its mission, namely independence and the ability to operate according to new and non-traditional methods, in contrast to other funds functioning in Jordan.

They agreed on the need for the fund to focus on very large ventures and enjoy tax exemptions.

In his column in Al Rai daily on Friday, Issam Qadamani said the government should "crown its achievements" with the launch of the investment fund, which he noted is the "antidote" to debts and borrowing.

"This is because the borrowed money goes to cover the deficit and government costs, but the money channelled to the investment fund would go to generating revenues for investors, improving the economy and creating job opportunities, while freeing the government from borrowing additional money to fund these schemes," Qadamani wrote.