Senate approves draft law regulating investment environment

AMMAN — The Senate on Tuesday endorsed the 2022 draft law regulating the investment environment as referred from the Lower House.

Senators, during a session chaired by Senate President Faisal Fayez and attended by Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh and Cabinet members, urged the government to speed up the procedures for preparing a plan to identify investment opportunities in various sectors and governorates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The senators also called for engaging the private sector, training human resources to conduct their duties professionally and accurately at the relevant public institutions, and setting a period of no more than 15 workdays to issue a license to practice economic activities.

The bill, which replaces the 2014 Investment Law, seeks to provide a supportive environment for existing investments and to provide conditions that can attract further investments in implementation of the Economic Modernisation Vision, which entails securing JD40 billion in investments over the next decade.

The draft law stipulates equal treatment between Jordanian and foreign investors, the protection of investments, free money transfers, the provision of stimulus guarantees, as well as incentives related to the added value of investments (economic growth, providing jobs, exportation, and the transfer of know-how and technology).

It also urges for the digitalisation and automation and of procedures and services to overcome administrative and procedural obstacles, encouraging investments in strategic, entrepreneurs, innovation and research and development projects, and providing a proper environment to develop SMEs.

The bill also identifies investment features in development and free zones and addresses issues related to conflict settlement of investment contracts through arbitration as per agreed upon rules. If the two sides do not have an agreement, Jordanian law, with the exception of Private International Law, applies.

The draft law also includes forming one or more committees within the Investment Ministry to look into investors’ ombudsmen and verify the integrity of procedures and decisions issued by official institutions.