Business

AMMAN — The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) delegation, in coordination with the secretariat general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), will be paying a working visit to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman between January 16 and 22.

The visit aims at discussing cooperation in fields related to supporting business entrepreneurship, developing small- and medium-sized projects, making direct contacts with JEDCO counterparts and studying the possibility of implementing joint schemes.

JEDCO Chief Executive Officer Hana Uraidi said the visit also aims at highlighting the common concepts for best practices in programmes related to supporting entrepreneurship and small- and medium-sized projects.

During the visit, JEDCO will review its 2016-2018 vision and the role of the Governorate Development Fund in financing these programmes and schemes, Uraidi noted.

The delegation includes a representative of the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry and representatives of the Kingdom’s embassies in each country.

BENGALURU — Economic growth is losing momentum across emerging and developed economies as is inflation, with trouble in China now the biggest worry for 2016, according to the overwhelming majority of hundreds of economists polled by Reuters around the world.

That comes despite several trillion dollars' worth of stimulus and ultra-easy monetary policy from major central banks over the last half decade, and coincides with a growing sense of fear that is gripping world financial markets.

The benchmark S&P 500 US stock index closed below 1,900 for the first time since September on Wednesday, crude oil has fallen over 70 per cent since mid-2014, below $30 a barrel and US 10-year Treasury bond yields are back to two-month lows.

Elwin de Groot, senior market economist at Rabobank, warned that the world could no longer rely on China for support, as it did after the global crisis erupted on financial markets in 2007-08 and spread to developed economies.

"One of the lessons learned from past crises is that one ought to take the market seriously. Very seriously. From that viewpoint, the start to the year is a screaming warning sign," he said.

"One reason why the market is watching China so intensely is that all big economic regions have their own issues, so a weaker China means no spender of last resort," he added.

Throughout the years of crisis and recovery, the world's second largest economy has helped to cushion the world economy through breakneck borrowing and infrastructure spending, which has only recently begun to taper off.

Concerns about China's slowdown easily topped the list of what hundreds of economists said they were most worried about for the global economy this year, even though a majority said the risk of a global recession this year is "insignificant".

Prospects for rapid acceleration remain slim.

Global growth forecasts in the poll of 3.3 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent next year are lower than three months ago, with the most optimistic prediction looking significantly more modest this time around compared with previous years.

Performance in developed economies is expected to be modest at best. Not only have growth forecasts been trimmed, economists have chopped their inflation outlook across the board for most countries, with lower highs and lower lows.

Waning optimism about US and Britain

The poll also showed the outlook for those few developed economies which have perked up enough to warrant higher interest rates or at least discussion of them, particularly the United States and Britain.

"The US recovery looks set to continue but the pace is expected to be unspectacular," indicated Janet Henry, global chief economist at HSBC, who believes the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will have to scale back the policy tightening it has in mind.

"The Fed is still projecting 100 basis points of rate rises in 2016. We are forecasting that they will actually move more cautiously rather than risk having to make the Great Reversal," she said.

The latest Reuters poll predicts only three follow-up increases this year after the first Fed hike in almost a decade last month, held back partly by a strong dollar and tame inflation.

With British inflation nowhere near the Bank of England's 2 per cent target, and not expected to get there until sometime in 2017, the central bank is expected leave policy unchanged until at least July, later than previously thought.

Sterling has tumbled sharply on expectations that the first move could be even further out, possibly not until 2017.

And while very low inflation and modest growth will probably define the eurozone economy for the next two years, there are only slim chances the European Central Bank will increase its monthly bond purchases.

"More dramatic and substantial policy easing is only likely to come as a response to a significant deterioration in the outlook," according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

Emerging economies a significant risk

Battered emerging markets, from which investors have been fleeing in droves, look set for another very tough year.

Economists as a whole may have rated the risk of a global recession as "insignificant", but a slim majority of them based in emerging markets said "significant".

China's reported economic growth is expected to slow to 6.5 per cent in 2016 from a forecast 6.9 per cent in 2015, prompting the government to ease policy further. Many suspect the real growth rate is lower than that.

This moderating growth will raise pressure on policymakers to do more, especially as a renewed plunge in Chinese stock markets and a slide in the yuan currency have stoked concerns among global investors.

India is one of the few exceptions in emerging markets with a stable outlook, and is likely to maintain a faster growth rate than China over the next few years. The most pessimistic forecast for growth next year in India matches the most optimistic figure for China, 7 per cent.

"For most of the emerging world, the growth revisions are clearly downwards," indicated  HSBC's Henry. "This includes the large Asian economies, including China and India, though the bigger cuts have come through in Latin America, particularly Brazil."

The worst recessions of 2016 will happen in Latin America and there is little policymakers can do to avoid this as commodities prices flounder. Economists slashed growth forecasts for most of the region.

Separately, ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Wednesday that the "alarming" outlook for emerging countries hit by collapsing oil prices is more worrying than China's economic slowdown.

"We are much more worried about the prospects for emerging countries outside of China, and in particular raw material producing countries", than the Asian giant's economic woes, leading S&P economist Jean-Michel Six told a news conference.

He said falling oil prices that had been a "blessing" for consumers in developed nations had now turned into "bad news" for the world economy.

And he highlighted the risks of falling oil prices that have now slumped close to $30 a barrel for "the growth and geopolitical prospects in the emerging countries" heavily dependent on commodity prices and especially oil.

"We are in a zone of uncertainty and weakness which is becoming alarming," indicated Six, who is chief economist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Brazil is an "extremely serious" case after falling into recession last year, the S&P official warned, pointing to the multi-faceted impact on it from US monetary policy, China, commodity prices as well as its economic policy and governance.

China, on the other hand, where concern about its economy has rattled global markets since New Year, is less worrying, he said.

He described a slowdown in an economy in the throes of transitioning from export-led investment to a domestic consumer focus as welcome. 

"It would be desirable for the Chinese authorities to abandon the seven per cent [of gross domestic product] target [for growth]," he added.

NEW YORK — General Electric Co. (GE) will move its global headquarters to Boston, tapping the city's technology talent and likely lowering its tax bill as the industrial conglomerate seeks to lift profit and emphasise digital capabilities.

The maker of aircraft engines, locomotives, power turbines and household appliances will move to temporary quarters by next summer, and permanently settle about 800 workers in the Seaport district by 2018, GE indicated.

“We want to be at the centre of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations as a leader in digital-industrial activities,” GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a statement.

"Greater Boston is home to 55 colleges and universities. Massachusetts spends more on research and development than any other region in the world, and Boston attracts a diverse, technologically-fluent workforce focused on solving challenges for the world," he added. "We are excited to bring our headquarters to this dynamic and creative city."

GE noted that the move would have no material financial impact, with costs offset by state and city incentives and the sale of its current headquarters offices in Fairfield, Connecticut, and its offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

Massachusetts will provide up to $120 million in grants and other incentives and the city will provide property tax savings of up to $25 million. The state funds must be spent on public infrastructure, including site preparation, building acquisition costs and road and building improvements, GE indicated.

GE also is eligible for $1 million in workforce training grants, and up to $5 million to foster relations between the company, research institutions and universities.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said GE's decision resulted from "the city's willingness and excitement to work creatively" to attract the company, bringing 800 high-paying jobs to the city.

The move also will lower GE's tax bill. Even though Massachusetts is often called "Taxachusetts", it ranked 25th in a 2016 Tax Foundation survey of positive business tax climates among US states. Connecticut ranked 44th, near the bottom.

Connecticut's corporate income tax rate is nominally 7.5 per cent, but GE likely pays an effective rate of 9 per cent due to surcharges on growth income, versus 8 per cent in Massachusetts, said Jared Walczak, a policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank.

Connecticut also has many corporate tax structures that are less favourable than other states', such as rules that could put more of GE's global sales within Connecticut's grasp, and those probably also tipped the decision, Walczak added.

"Given the cost of corporate relocation, I suspect that GE anticipates substantial tax savings from the move," he continued.

Long search

GE's decision caps a search that intensified last summer as Connecticut lawmakers passed a budget that increased taxes by $1.2 billion over two years, drawing protests from some of the state's biggest corporations.

The same month, Immelt said in an e-mail to employees that he asked a team to examine the company's options to relocate the headquarters to a state with a "more pro-business environment".

But talent also was a draw. GE said on Wednesday it had been thinking about a new location for more than three years and considered 40 potential sites this year. Those included Atlanta; Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, according to people familiar with the matter.

"This wasn't only about dollars and cents but what Boston and New England brings to the table," said John Fish, chief executive officer of Suffolk Construction Company, New England's largest building company.

The 124-year-old company is undergoing a major restructuring to emphasise digital and industrial capabilities. 

Earlier on Wednesday, GE said it would cut up to 6,500 jobs in Europe over the next two years, including 765 in France and 1,300 in Switzerland, as it restructures and integrates its acquisition of Alstom's energy business.

With 800 employees, the Boston headquarters will be the same size as Fairfield, but its makeup will change, GE remarked. 

The new office will employ about 200 administrators and 600 "digital industrial product managers, designs and developers", GE added.

Those workers, spread among the company's GE Digital, Current, robotics and life sciences divisions, will share technology developments across business units, GE continued, helping develop software to run the machinery the company manufacturers.

GE had been based in Fairfield since 1974. The planned move is a blow to Connecticut, which in December reduced corporate taxes to thwart criticism that the state is unfriendly to business. Fairfield's 2013-2014 annual report listed GE's headquarters with an assessed value $74.7 million and ranked it the city's largest
property tax payer.

GE has about 5,700 employees in Connecticut, including about 800 people employed at the Fairfield headquarters. It was not immediately clear how many employees will remain in Connecticut.

"Of course we are disappointed, and we know that many in Connecticut share that frustration," Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said. "While GE's headquarters may be leaving, I have been assured that the company will continue to have many employees working here in Connecticut."

GE's presence in the state had been shrinking because much of it was related to its finance arm, GE Capital. The company is selling off the bulk of GE Capital as part of its restructuring.

BANGKOK — Foreign investment in Thailand plummeted last year, official data showed, the latest sign that the kingdom's once-vibrant economy continues to falter under prolonged military rule.

Total investment applied for by foreign companies between January and November 2015 plunged 78 per cent from a year earlier to 93.8 billion baht ($2.62 billion), according to figures from Thailand's state-run Board of Investment (BoI) sent to AFP late Tuesday.

The figures will do little to cheer junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who seized power in a May 2014 coup vowing to restore stability but who has struggled to kick-start the country's lacklustre economy.

After years of impressive growth, Thailand's economy is struggling, mired in high household debt, stuttering exports and low consumer confidence.

It also faces stiff competition from increasingly attractive neighbours like Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Particularly worrying for Prime Minister Prayut is a significant drop-off in investment from Japan, historically the largest investor in Thailand by far, which slumped 81 per cent.

European Union (EU) investment also plunged from 86.7 billion baht in 2014 to just 2 billion baht last year. Investment from the United States was also heavily down, while Chinese investment was only down slightly. 

Krystal Tan, an Asia economist with Capital Economics, said the trend was indicative of deeper fissures within the Thai economy, which was among the slowest growing in the region last year.

"The 2015 foreign direct investment figures are very weak, indicating foreign investor confidence in the economy remains fragile," she added. 

"More broadly, Thailand's economic competitiveness is on the decline," she indicated. "The country continues to face significant challenges on the political front that have negative repercussions for business and investor confidence."

But BoI Deputy Secretary General Ajarin Pattanapanchai attributed the drop-off to new investment incentives, which became effective in 2015, favouring projects that employ high-tech, encourage innovation, or strengthen Thailand's role as a regional and international trading hub.

"The projects that we got last year were not much, but almost 70 per cent were in our target sector," she said, noting that the board had expected foreign direct investment inflow in 2015 to take a hit. 

"We understood that it would drop, we prepared for it, but it's still a little bit below what we expected," she said.

Thailand has historically been a top choice for investors in southeast Asia, offering liberal economic policies, a skilled workforce and a strategic location as the gateway to the greater Mekong region. 

But analysts say years of political instability, including two military coups, have hampered the country's economic potential, often referred to locally as the "lost decade".

Earlier this month, the World Bank forecast that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate would slip from 2.5 per cent in 2015 to just 2 per cent this year, by far the gloomiest regional prediction.

Nearby Vietnam, on the other hand, reported a record number of foreign investment in 2015 and the fastest growth rate in five years at 6.68 per cent.

Separately, the Cabinet said on Tuesday that the government will buy rubber directly from farmers at prices of up to 60 baht a kilogramme, nearly double the market price, in a bid to placate increasingly disgruntled farmers as prices dip to a seven-year low.

The Cabinet did not guarantee a price for 60 baht ($1.65) per kilogramme, as demanded by some rubber farmers groups, but said it would purchase up to 200,000 tonnes of rubber at up to 60 baht a kilogramme.

The government has been anxious to head off protests from rubber farmers in parts of the south, who traditionally form part of the support base for the ruling royalist-military elite.

Some rubber farmers supported anti-government protests in 2014, leading to a military coup ousting the previous government.

Tuesday's announcement follows protests and hunger strikes by some groups, who say not enough is being done to help farmers hit by a slowing demand for natural rubber as the economy cools in China, the world's top rubber importer.

Chan-O-cha has directed state agencies and ministries to use more Thai rubber, saying around 100,000 tonnes of rubber will be used for projects this year.

Thailand, the world's top rubber producer and exporter, currently uses around 1.4 million tonnes of the 4 million tonnes of rubber it produces each year.

The government also said on Tuesday it would help farmers by distributing 4 million bags of rice to some 800,000 rubber farming households.

The commerce ministry said it would also negotiate with overseas buyers to purchase about 3.6 billion baht ($99.12 million) worth of rubber from Thailand this year.

But some want the government to intervene faster and guarantee all prices at 60 baht.

"We want to see the government drive rubber prices to our goal of 60  baht per kilogramme within 30 days," said Boonsong Nubthong, president of the Thai Federation of Rubber Farmers.

Thailand's benchmark unsmoked rubber sheet (USS3), which farmers sell to factories, was quoted at 33.8 baht ($0.93) per kilogramme on Tuesday, the lowest since December 2008.

The industry ministry aims to open 25 rubber processing factories by April, which will use an estimated 870,000 tonnes of rubber, in another attempt to help the fledgling industry.

PARIS — European plane maker Airbus beat Boeing in the race for new business last year, swelling its total order book to a record $1 trillion, but remained behind on deliveries as Boeing extended its lead as the world's largest jetmaker.

The plane-making division of Airbus Group grabbed 1,036 net plane orders after cancellations, it indicated this week, down 29 per cent from 2014, compared with Boeing's tally of 768, a fall of 46 per cent. 

Both plane makers experienced a slowdown after two years of heavy orders, and amid concerns over the impact of economic jitters and low oil prices on demand for fuel-saving jets.

Despite that, deliveries of popular models grew, reflecting industry forecasts of persistent growth in traffic.

Airbus hit a company record of 635 deliveries and predicted over 650 in 2016, with new orders again exceeding deliveries.

Boeing said last week its deliveries rose 5 per cent to 762 jets, an industry record.

Combined deliveries came in a whisker below 1,400, having doubled in the past decade, and Airbus plane-making chief Fabrice Bregier said the latest data showed the market was "resilient".

“Airlines do not expect oil prices to stay low forever," he added.

However, Airbus dropped to its lowest overall share of deliveries against Boeing, 45 per cent, since 2002, and its lowest share of wide-body deliveries, 35 per cent, since 2001, after its rival pumped up deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus expects to close the gap with its competing A350, but deliveries have started gently due to industry-wide cabin supply problems and the European firm's determination to avoid a repeat of industrial problems that beset Boeing's 787 and its own A380.

Airbus argued deliveries were about the same as Boeing's, disregarding differences of timing between increases in production of the latest generation of lightweight jets.

In a boost to the slow-selling A380, the world's largest passenger jet, Airbus said it had won an order for three of the double-deckers from a "global leadinng airline".

That fell to a net total of two orders for the year, after a cancellation linked to the restructuring of bankrupt Russian airline Transaero, industry sources said.

Japan's Nikkei reported this month Japan's biggest carrier ANA Holdings Inc. (9202.T) was set to buy three of the jets.

As plane makers target further production increases, tensions, meanwhile, surfaced between Airbus and some top suppliers.

Sales chief John Leahy blamed US engine-maker Pratt & Whitney for a delay in the first delivery of the new  A320neo, while Bregier publicly told France's Zodiac Aerospace  to pull up its socks following seat production delays.

"Yes, it is a message," he told a news conference.

Airbus missed its target for 15 A350 deliveries in 2015 by one plane after shortages in cabin equipment. It expects to deliver "at least 50" of the new jets in 2016.

BARCELONA — The erosion of wealth among the world's middle class due to climate change is a threat to economic and social stability which could spur its 1 billion members to push for action on global warming, Swiss bank UBS Group AG said.

In a study of middle-class consumption in 215 cities around the world, UBS analysts found spending priorities were noticeably different in cities most at risk from climate change such as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Shanghai.

In those top-risk cities, the middle class spent between 0.6 and 0.8 per cent more on housing compared to the national average, and less on luxuries, entertainment and durable goods.

The report said middle-class households are already changing their lifestyles in the cities most exposed to hotter temperatures, rising sea levels and extreme weather such as storms and floods.

In places with high risks of climate-related shocks, people spend more on the upkeep of their properties. 

And homes may decrease in value if certain places become less appealing to live, eating into wealth, the report added.

Efforts to adapt to changing climate conditions, which remain modest and sporadic among the middle class, can also bring new costs.

In cities that suffer extreme heat, the middle class is increasingly laying out for air conditioning, the report noted.

But some types of adaptation can create "a negative feedback loop", it warned. 

For instance, higher demand for air conditioning requires more electricity, which can lead to grid failure and increased planet-warming emissions.

In addition, inadequate infrastructure and health care systems increase the need to rely on emergency government support when disasters strike. 

"In our assessment this is likely, even in the richest of countries," the report said.

The largest cities are home to nearly a quarter of the global population and generate around half of global gross domestic product, the report indicated.

Most of the global middle class lives in southeast Asia, the region that has experienced the fastest urban population growth in recent years, it remarked.

But 91 per cent of weather-related losses in Asia are uninsured, it pointed out, compared with 32 per cent in the United States, which had the highest level of insurance penetration in the study sample.

Driver of conflict

The report also said climate-driven population shifts into urban areas have the potential to create and exacerbate conflict, as in Syria.

In the course of five years of drought starting in 2006, Syria lost 85 per cent of its livestock and saw crop production plummet, child malnutrition worsen and the subsequent migration of 1.5 million residents from rural to urban areas.

"These conditions led to protests, which ultimately escalated into civil war," Zurich-based UBS said in a statement.

However, the political and social clout of middle-class populations means their vulnerability to climate change risks should translate into pressure on governments to tackle global warming, the report noted.

"The middle class has two important qualities that make them critically important to the conversation about climate change: substantial assets and political influence," said Paul Donovan, global economist and managing director at UBS Investment Bank.

"If the effects of climate change significantly hurt the middle class, the inevitable reaction should in turn elicit a strong response from policymakers," he added.

LONDON — Oil forged fresh 12-year lows Tuesday on global oversupply, prompting Nigeria, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to call for an emergency meet to address collapsing prices that has ravaged revenues.

In early morning deals, New York's benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery tanked to $30.41 a barrel, which was the lowest level since December 3, 2003.

Europe's Brent North Sea crude for February dived to $30.43, a point last seen on April 6, 2004.

Nigerian Petroleum Resources Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu declared that he expects an extraordinary meeting of the oil group in "early March" to discuss nosediving crude prices.

"We did say that if it [the price] hits the $35 per barrel, we will begin to look [at]... an extraordinary meeting," said Kachikwu, whose term as OPEC president finished in December.

The prices have hit levels that necessitate a meeting, he told an energy forum in Abu Dhabi, but added that he had not yet confirmed with fellow OPEC ministers if they would be willing to attend.

Stopping the slide? 

"The prospect of a meeting is definitely capping losses for the day and driving prices back towards $32, however I cannot see it stopping the slide in the longer term," said analyst James Hughes at trading firm GKFX.

"The call for the meeting is not necessarily a surprise as we have lost almost 20 per cent since the start of the year and are looking to test $20 a barrel," he added.

In midday deals on Tuesday, Brent prices rebounded by 25 cents to $31.82, while WTI clawed back ground to stand at $31.30, down 11 cents from Monday's close.

Saudi-led Gulf exporters within OPEC have so far refused to cut production to curb sliding prices, seeking to protect their market share despite a heavy blow to their revenues.

Kachikwu said member states differ on the issue of intervention.

"One group feels there is a need to intervene. The other group feels even if we did, we are only 30 to 35 per cent of the producers really," as 65 per cent of supply comes from non-OPEC countries, he said at the Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum.

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy and foremost oil producer, has been ravaged by collapsing oil prices in recent years because crude accounts for 90 per cent of the nation's export earnings and 70 per cent of overall government revenue. 

"The reported breakeven price for Nigeria is around $87 a barrel and with the price looking so much weaker it’s no surprise if they are one of the countries asking for a meeting before the next scheduled one in June," said Hughes, noting rumours that other OPEC members also wanted an exceptional gathering.

OPEC refused to slash output at its scheduled production meetings in June and December last year, despite a collapse in prices since July 2014, when the market stood above $100 per barrel.

OPEC's 'big gamble' 

The Saudi-backed policy, and supported really by only OPEC's Gulf members, is aimed at pushing oil prices lower to squeeze US shale producers out of the market. However, it has slammed smaller producing nations like Nigeria and Venezuela.

"OPEC has taken a big gamble that hasn't really worked so far," said analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Gain Capital.

"Essentially, the smaller OPEC members, who are struggling really badly, are unlikely to be able to persuade the Saudis to make a U-turn on its policy of maintaining market share," he added.

The market's dramatic collapse has continued in 2016, as a row between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and fellow group member Iran dimmed prospects for production cutbacks.

Crude futures plummeted 10 per cent last week, also on fears about the global supply glut and demand weakness in China, the world's biggest energy user.

The rise in the greenback, which makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for holders of weaker currencies, has dented prices as well.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy  Minister Suhail Al Mazroui expects a recovery in plummeting oil prices before the end of the year.

"I am personally convinced that before the end of 2016 we're going to see a correction. The market fundamentals tell us this," Mazroui told the energy forum in Abu Dhabi.

The minister said demand for oil had been higher than expected last year.

"The increase in demand, if you look at 2015, was higher than we expected. We said 1.2 [million barrels per day] to 1.25 million, and we ended up with 1.5 [million]," he said.

"That means when oil prices are lower, demand will be higher," he added. "The market will resolve it. I think that's the only fair assessment of the current situation."

According to Mazroui, the decision by Gulf producers to maintain production levels was working to cull excess output.

"I think the strategy is working," he said. "It is a fundamental change... allowing the market to balance itself. If we do something artificial, I don't think that is going to last," in an apparent reference to calls by other OPEC producers to cut output in a bid to support the nosediving prices.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, sits on 5.9 per cent of the world's oil reserves and 3.1 per cent of its natural gas.

The oil price slump has seen it and other Gulf states embark on belt-tightening measures to cut spending and boost non-crude revenues.

The UAE took the lead by liberalising fuel prices in June and raised electricity charges in Abu Dhabi.

AMMAN — The local market is open to all commercial and economic activities, with the recent past years witnessing the entry of dozens of trademarks in many sectors, Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad said Tuesday. 

"The local market also attracts a wide variety of economic activities thanks to the political and security stability of the Kingdom amidst an unstable region," Murad added, noting that the government has recently granted many sectors additional incentives to achieve greater economic benefits.

He also expressed ACC's keenness to boost the participation of new trademarks and to support their activities, while some agents attract international trademarks without considering customers' trends, quality and work locations.

Consumers have wide options due to the availability of many alternatives, especially in the retail sector, Murad said, highlighting that markets' nature, consumers' tastes and consumption trends affect the market activity under high competitiveness controlled by the supply and demand. 

He also explained that differences between agents and international companies can be seen as reasons making companies leave the Kingdom, as was circulated in the case where some trademarks left Amman.

In this regard, the ACC president noted that these companies did not leave due to government procedures rather than for rectifying their status, highlighting that what left the market is only one company owning many international clothes trademarks for reasons related to high prices of some products.

AMMAN — The Egyptian government has imposed non-customs administrative procedures on its imports that would affect Jordan's exports to Egypt, Iyad Abu Haltam, president of the Society of East Amman Industrial Investors, said Tuesday.

Egypt's ministry of commerce and industry late last year issued new regulations for registering qualified factories that can export their products to Cairo, Abu Haltam added, noting these procedures would affect the flow of commodities, especially the Jordanian, and violate the Grand Arab Free Trade Zone Agreement.

He also called on official institutions to address the Egyptians to exclude Jordanian products from these procedures or taking administrative practices to protect national products by applying similar procedures on Egyptian goods.

BERLIN — President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Monday in an interview with German daily Bild that Western economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis are affecting Russia.

"Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia," he said in a long interview, calling the European Union (EU) sanctions "a theatre of the absurd".

Moscow has been hit by US and European sanctions over the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, which has claimed more than 9,000 lives since April 2014.

In late December, the EU extended its sanctions by six months, arguing that the Minsk peace agreement signed by Moscow has not been fully implemented.

Putin said, however, that "the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy", according to an English-language transcript published by Bild online.

"We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere," he added.

"But the whole thing also has a positive side: if you earn so many petrodollars, as we once did, that you can buy anything abroad, this slows down developments in your own country," the Russian president elaborated.

Putin said Russia was now "gradually stabilising our economy". 

"Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive," he indicated. "For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than $300 billion in gold reserves."

Separately, Moscow share prices on Monday dropped by more than 5 per cent as Russia's energy-dependent economy reels from low oil prices and fluctuations on the Asian market. 

The dollar-denominated RTS index had dropped by 5.12 per cent at closing, while Russia's battered ruble fell to 76 against the dollar and over 83 against the euro for the first time since the currency slump of December 2014. 

Russia's economy and the ruble have been battered since 2014 by the slide in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.

But the continued slump in oil prices, with Brent crude trading below $33 on Monday, and worries over the state of China's economy pummelled Russia's markets and currency as trading began again following a break for the New Year and Orthodox Christmas holidays last week. 

Analysts warned that if the price of oil continues to fall then that could mean even more trouble for Russia's economy just as officials were claiming that it was edging out of recession.  

"If oil prices keep dropping, the ruble could have to continue to adjust itself," analysts from the VTB Capital said. 

The World Bank has said that the full-year downturn for 2015 could have reached 4.3 per cent, given the low oil price, and that Russia is likely to remain in recession for all of 2016.

Experts remain sceptical that even an increase in the price of oil could not salvage the battered Russian
economy in 2016.

"Even a marked rebound in oil prices would be unlikely to spur a return to reasonable rates of economic growth and consumers in particular will remain under pressure," analysts from the Capital Economics research consultancy said. 

Russia's finance minister predicted last month that 2016 would be a difficult year for his country's recession-hit economy, already reeling from low oil prices.

"2016 will not be simple," Anton Siluanov said in an interview with Russian state television. "The latest predictions show that the price of our main exports could be lower than predicted."

The country's 2016 budget had been calculated on an oil price of $50 per barrel, a figure President Putin said was an "optimistic" assessment of the situation.

Siluanov predicted the oil price would stay around $40 per barrel on average, and that spending cuts and privatisation measures would be integrated into the budget.

The Russian government has forecast the country's gross domestic product would increase 0.7 per cent next year, after falling 3.7 per cent in 2015.