Social security fund’s assets reach JD9.3b in 2017

AMMAN — Social Security Investment Fund’s (SSIF) total assets reached around JD9.274 billion at the end of last year, compared with around JD8.3 billion in 2016, with an increase of JD984.1 million, representing an increase of 11.4 per cent.

In an SSIF statement e-mailed to The Jordan times,  SSIF Executive Chairperson Suhair Al-Ali noted that the comprehensive income edged up last year, ‎registering JD343.5 million at the end of the year, compared with JD137.5 million at the end of 2016, representing an increase of 150 per cent, as realised and unrealised losses in the fund’s stock portfolio went down last year.

The comprehensive income consists of the income generated from the return on investment in the fund’s various investments in money market instruments, bonds, loans, public and private equity, real estate and dividends coupled with the revaluation of the fund’s strategic equity portfolio. 

The unrealised losses of the fund’s strategic equity portfolio traded in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) amounted to JD25.1 million at the end of 2017, compared with JD121 million at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, the realised losses at the end of 2017 dropped to JD0.7 million compared with JD56.6 million at the end of 2016. 

Al-Ali said that the revaluation profits/losses is an accounting evaluation that is directly impacted by the performance of ASE as the fund’s investments constitute around 11.3 per cent of the ASE market capitalisation. 

SSIF chief pointed out that ASE’s performance has been positive since the beginning of 2018. Accordingly, the fund’s public equity revaluation reflected the positive performance of the ASE, with the value of SSIF’s public equity portfolio increasing by JD171 million during the first two months of 2018, an increase of 9.2 per cent.

She also underlined the fund’s “contributions to the economic development in Jordan through establishing and participating in mega  projects that create jobs in different  sectors”.  

Citing examples, the statement said that in the second half of 2016, SSIF established a wholly-owned company, “Daman Financial Leasing Company” to manage the SSIF investments in the financial leasing sector in all governorates. SSIF has allocated an initial amount of  JD400 million to finance investments in the field of financial leasing, of which around JD96 million is now in place to finance the Amman Customs Depot (Madona) and  JD37 million for financing the state-run Tafileh Hospital. The company is also currently studying financing a number of vital projects in transportation, health, education sectors throughout the Kingdom, Al-Ali added. 

The fund also established “Daman for Development Zones Company” (DDC) in 2009 as a private shareholding company to be fund’s  investment arm in the infrastructure development, services and marketing, which now owns 80 per cent of “Mafraq Development Corporation”, which is in the process of setting up a logistics airport and hub  to boost the Jordanian exports to regional markets. The logistics airport will operate in parallel with the dry port that will be used for commercial purposes.

DDC also owns 100 per cent of the capital of “the North Development Corporation”, which is the main developer of the Irbid Development Area. The investments in this area are mainly in the information technology, telecommunications and support services sectors. 

SSIF also invests in the conventional and renewable energy sectors with a total investment of around JD92 million, according to the fund’s press release, which noted that the total jobs generated from its investments in the development areas, hospitality and financial leasing sectors have exceeded 2500.