JSF survey sheds light on investor confidence

AMMAN — The percentage of investors who believe Jordan’s economic conditions in 2021 were better than 2020 increased from 16 to 24 per cent, the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) said on Wednesday.

Announcing the results of the ninth phase of a survey on investor confidence in the Kingdom, the JSF said that investors’ who see economic conditions in Jordan in 2021 as worse dropped 45 per cent, attributing the drop to the less severe COVID-19 pandemic restrictions than they were in 2020. 

The survey included 613 small-, medium-, and large-sized companies from various sectors, according to a JSF statement.

On investors’ expectations and optimism on the economic future in Jordan over the following 12 months, the rate dropped 7 per cent to 43 per cent compared with the 2020 survey, while the rate of investors who believe that the conditions will be worse increased from 30 per cent in 2020 to 34 per cent in 2021.

The poll showed that 53 per cent of companies in the commercial sector are optimistic sector about the future followed by the agricultural sector with 50 per cent, the industrial sector with 48 per cent, while investors in the service sector were the least optimistic with 40 per cent.

Regarding their views on the investment environment in the Kingdom, 27 per cent of the sample said that the environment in Jordan is encouraging while 68 per cent said it is not, attributing their opinion to “poor economic conditions, low liquidity, weak demand for goods and services, high prices and taxes and insufficient incentives for investment”.  

When asked about if they thought of moving abroad, 72 per cent of investors said that they did think of moving their investments abroad over the past three years. 

Regarding the expected period for recovery from the pandemic crisis, 27 per cent of investors said it needs at least two years, while 38 per cent said it needs one to two years and 13 per cent said it will need six to 12 months.

As for their intention to end the services of some employees, 83 per cent of investors said that they would not, and 83 per cent said that they did not have to reduce the salaries of their employees during 2021.

Regarding the level of satisfaction on the government procedures to support the national economy, 43 per cent of investors said that they were satisfied. The agricultural sector was the top beneficiary from such procedures with 21 per cent, while the service sector was the least with 13 per cent.

Meanwhile, 39 per cent of investors said that government procedures to deal with the pandemic were not enough, 26 per cent said that they were not enough at all, and 30 per cent said that these procedures were enough. 

The JSF said that 86 per cent of investors said that they did not benefit from these procedures or programmes, which highlights having shortcomings in communication mechanisms.