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AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a recommendation by the services, infrastructure and social affairs ministerial committee to task the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) with monitoring the insurance sector, in accordance with the practices of several international monitoring institutions.

The decision stipulates transferring the task to the CBJ within a year, and updating monitoring frameworks on the insurance sector within two years, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Also on Wednesday, the Cabinet approved establishing 17 new houses to replace dilapidated buildings in Karak’s Sultani area, and implementing maintenance on six other houses in the same area at a total cost of JD350,000. 

AMMAN — Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh on Wednesday received a Palestinian delegation visiting the Kingdom to observe the Jordanian experience in joining the Open Government Initiative, a ministry statement said.

During the meeting with the delegation, Khawaldeh explained that Jordan joined the initiative in August 2011.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Rahma on Wednesday inaugurated an exhibition to showcase the projects of architecture students at Petra University, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Princess Rahma toured the exhibition and met with Petra University President Marwan El Muwalla as well as the members of the “Green Amman 2020” project. 

AMMAN — The Lower House's Legal Committee on Tuesday endorsed the 2015 draft elections law almost exactly as referred by the government with some "insignificant" changes.

The head of the panel, MP Abdul Munim Odat, said that brainstorming meetings have been held with representatives of political parties, women and youth groups, professional organisations, legal experts and opinion leaders for feedback and suggestions on the key reform law.

Odat also said that the panel has convened 15 meetings to discuss the proposals it has received from all society segments, adding that the "law is now with the House to complete the process".

In remarks to The Jordan Times, the House’s First Deputy Speaker Mustapha Amawi said the Legal Committee has "turned its back on all suggestions it received from the people it had met with", adding, "99.9 per cent of the law remained exactly as in the government version".

"The committee's changes were all insignificant. As such, the House should have approved the bill the same day it received it from the government. Too much time was wasted," Amawi said.

Citing a statement by the committee, Amawi said that one of the amendments made has to do with procedures that would allow employees of the oversight agency, the Independent Elections Commission, to vote, while another accepts the ballot even if the voter does not check the box that refers to the ticket to which the candidates belong.   

Amawi, an established lawyer and former president of the Legal Committee, described the law as received from the government and amended by the panel as “unfair”, citing the gap between population density and the number of parliamentary seats allocated to each constituency.

“It is so unfair to give four seats to an electoral district of 50,000 people and the same number to another district with 227,000 people,” he said.

He explained that there should be a reconsideration of the number of parliamentary seats allocated for electoral districts and the open proportional lists suggested in the law. “The number of the Chamber seats should be also less than 130.”

“We will fight to have these flaws taken care of under the Dome when we start deliberations next Sunday.”

Under the 2015 elections bill, the number of Lower House members has been reduced to 130 from 150, based on the open proportional list at the district level.

The new law is based on an at-large voting system in which all candidates can run for parliamentary elections on one large multi-member ticket.

Under Article 9 of the bill, eligible voters will have a number of votes equal to the number of seats allocated for their district in the Lower House.

AMMAN — The government on Tuesday left it unclear whether it has annulled the deal with Noble Energy to buy natural gas from Israel.

During Tuesday's Lower House oversight session, Minister of Energy Ibrahim Saif said that no deal has been reached yet with Noble Energy to buy natural gas from Israel, adding that it is still reviewing the memo the two sides signed in light of developments in the energy market. 

Responding to MPs' calls on the government to shy away from importing the Israeli gas, Saif added that the letter of intent the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) signed with Noble Energy in September 2014 set no deadlines for negotiations on technical and financial matters.

The minister also said that the transformations in the international energy market have made it obligatory to revisit the deal with Noble Energy, stressing the government’s determination to diversify power providers in light of the “abundant energy alternatives”.

“All options and alternatives are on the table. Importing natural gas through Noble Energy is just one of them,” he said.

Citing the frequent Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, many MPs called on the government to cancel the deal with Noble Energy. Some of them threatened a motion of no confidence in the government if it goes ahead with the deal. 

State-owned NEPCO signed a letter of intent with Noble Energy, which owns 39 per cent of the Leviathan natural gas field in Israel, to buy gas over a period of 15 years and at a total cost of $15 billion starting late 2017. 

Earlier in 2015, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour announced that talks were put on hold “until the US company settles its ongoing legal dispute with Israel”.

The development was announced against the backdrop of a decision by Israeli anti-trust commissioner David Gilo, who announced that he was rescinding an agreement reached with Noble Energy and Delek Group in March that would have allowed the two companies to retain majority stakes in Israel’s two biggest gas fields, Tamar and Leviathan.

Consequently, Noble Energy signalled that it was suspending further development of the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields until Israel makes a final decision on resolving the natural gas monopoly and other regulatory matters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted in news reports as saying that Jordan has decided to cancel the gas agreement it signed with Israel.

Israeli website Ynetnews.com quoted Netanyahu as saying on Friday: “We had an agreement with the Kingdom of Jordan to sign a contract on the supply of Israeli gas and everything was ready, and then the surprising decision came to cancel the agreement.”

“This was an important security, geopolitical and economic contract. Had this contract been signed a year ago, it would have helped the economic stability of Jordan, which is facing the significant and difficult challenge of hundreds of thousands of refugees. It strengthens our relations of peace, relations that are very important to the State of Israel.”

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Tuesday discussed with British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood the outcome of the “Supporting Syria and the Region Conference” that was held in London. 

The two officials discussed developments in Syria and the agreement to cease aggressive operations and continue the Geneva talks and the decision to secure aid to Syrians, which was taken in Munich last week, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Judeh stressed the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian conflict that guarantees the safety, security and unity of the state with the participation of all components of the Syrian people as stipulated in the Geneva I resolutions.

He also reviewed the burden Jordan shoulders as a result of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, estimated in a December census at around 1.3 million, only half of whom are registered refugees.

Judeh and Ellwood discussed also the developments in Palestine where Judeh stressed the need to implement the two-state solution, under which an independent Palestinian state is established within the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and based on relevant international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The meeting also covered the situation in Libya, Iraq and Yemen, where the two officials stressed the importance of intensifying international efforts to combat terrorism. 

For his part, Ellwood voiced the UK's appreciation of the Kingdom's pivotal role, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, in achieving peace and stability in the region.

Also on Tuesday, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani met with Ellwood. He noted that Jordan achieved significant results in the London donor conference and commended the donor countries’ support pledged for Syrian refugees and host communities. 

During the meeting, attended by British Ambassador to Jordan Edward Oakden, Momani, who is also the government’s spokesperson, stressed the depth of bilateral relations, underscoring the continuous British aid to Jordan.  

AMMAN — The construction of a $2.2 billion power plant, Jordan's first to be fuelled by oil shale, is set to start in June, according to a government official.

The Attarat Power Company (APCO) is in the process of securing the remaining finance needed for starting construction on the facility, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ibrahim Saif told The Jordan Times this week.

APCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Enefit Jordan BV, which is itself owned by Enefit (Estonia’s Eesti Energia AS), Malaysia’s YTL Power International Berhad and Jordan’s Near East Investments Limited.

“By the end of May, the consortium is expected to secure the remaining funds for the project and then in early June we expect construction on the power plant to start,” Saif said.

“This project is part of the government’s efforts to diversify its energy resources through utilising the country’s reserves of oil shale,” he added.

In January, the consortium signed a $1.6 billion agreement for the funding of Jordan's first oil shale-fired power plant, which will be built in the Attarat area with a total capacity of 470 megawatts. 

The agreement was concluded between the conglomerate and the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The plant is expected to be operational in 2019.

The initial financing agreement was signed when His Majesty King Abdullah visited China last year. 

According to official figures, Jordan has vast reserves of oil shale estimated at more than 70 billion tonnes.  

AMMAN — Twenty-five MPs on Tuesday called for freezing the membership of their colleague Mohammad Dawaimeh (Amman, 2nd District) over his "frequent" visits to Tel Aviv and meetings with Israeli leaders.

The lawmakers' call came after they obtained an official letter by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour informing him of a 10-minute meeting Dawaimeh made with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu.

In the official letter, a copy of which was seen by The Jordan Times, Judeh said he was informed by Amman's ambassador to Tel Aviv about the meeting Dawaimeh held with Netenyahu, and another one he was to hold with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

The date of the letter is April 31, 2013.

In their memorandum, the 25 lawmakers expressed rejection of Dawaimeh's visit, calling for freezing of his membership and depriving him of his privileges and allocations. 

However, the deputy denied that he made any meetings with Israeli officials, challenging the authenticity of the released document.

In phone interview with The Jordan Times, Dawaimeh cast doubt over the timing of the letter's release, saying "the whole fuss was over three years ago. Why now?"

"I never informed our ambassador in Tel Aviv of anything. It is all fabricated," he said. 

Local media websites reported that Dawaimeh visited occupied Jerusalem on April 16, 2013 to attend a ceremony held by Peres to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel on Palestinian lands, known to Arabs as Nakbeh (catastrophe).

The visit triggered anger among his fellow deputies at the time, with over 60 lawmakers submitting a memo to the Lower House Permanent Office demanding his resignation.

AMMAN – Jordanian banks benefit from gradually improving operating conditions but will continue to face challenges in 2016, says Moody's Investors Service.

"We expect Jordan's economy to pick up and public debt to stabilise, all of which should support an acceleration of credit growth," said Alexios Philippides, a Moody's analyst. 

In Jordan, the international ratings agency said in a report e-mailed to The Jordan Times Tuesday, low oil prices are bolstering the Kingdom's fiscal and current account position as an oil and gas importer, while consumption and industrial competitiveness are also improving.

"However, conflicts in Syria and Iraq continue to drag on Jordan's economy, deeply affecting trade, tourism and investor sentiment, while the influx of a large number of refugees is straining public infrastructure," Philippides added. 

The analyst, however, said that Jordan's banking system is large and has high overseas exposure, mainly in the MENA region, resulting in increased systemic risks and a risk of contagion given weaker operating conditions in some of these countries.

According to the report "Jordanian Banks: Resilient Amid Regional Uncertainty", however, new regulatory and structural reforms, including the establishment of a credit information bureau and the ongoing roll-out of Basel III capital and liquidity frameworks, will strengthen the resilience of the banking sector.

Moody's said that asset quality is improving as banks tackle legacy problem loans while provisioning coverage is adequate. However, credit risks remain elevated due to rising household indebtedness and high sector concentrations, especially to the Jordanian government. 

Modest growth in risk-weighted assets and some profit retention will support solid capitalisation that compares well with peer countries. 

The banks will also continue to benefit from a granular deposit funding base and significant liquidity buffers.

AMMAN — The Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO) on Tuesday cut the power supply to the Yarmouk Water Company administration buildings for not paying accumulating financial dues amounting to over JD28 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

IDECO Director General Ahmad Theinat said the the power to the administration buildings was cut to avoid the disruption of water pumping to the public.