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NEW YORK — World stock indexes and commodities dropped on Tuesday as weak Chinese data revived fears about the effect of China’s economic health on the global economy and fueled more market turmoil.

Oil prices fell more than 7 per cent on concerns about global demand for petroleum, reversing a three-day rally that had pushed US crude up 27.5 per cent.

All three major US stock indexes were down more than 2 per cent, led by declines in energy shares, and were in negative territory for the year. The S&P 500 is now down 6.6 per cent for the year so far.

The CBOE Volatility index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, was up 10.4 per cent at 31.41, above its long-term average of 20. The index had spiked to 53.29 last Monday.

The moves followed a stormy week in the markets, when investors became increasingly concerned about further losses due to slowing growth in China.

The sell-off in equities last week raised doubts about earnings and growth while fueling worries about whether central bank support could make a difference after years of loose policy around the globe.

On Tuesday, surveys showed China’s manufacturing sector shrinking at its fastest pace in three years while its services sector also cooled.

Adding to economic worries, data showed US factory activity hit a more than two-year low in August.

“The volatility is here to stay for a while or at least till the US Federal Reserve gives us an indication regarding a rate increase,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

Comments by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer over the weekend appeared to keep alive chances of a US interest rate increase in September.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 406.88 points, or 2.46 per cent, to16,121.15, the S&P 500 lost 48.73 points, or 2.47 per cent, to 1,923.45 and the Nasdaq Composite  dropped 105.37 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 4,671.14.

MSCI’s all-country stock index fell 2.4 per cent and is down 7.1 per cent for the year to date. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 stocks index closed down 2.8 per cent.

Asian stocks, particularly in Japan, fell overnight.

In the oil market, Brent crude dropped $3.24 to $50.91 a barrel. US crude was down $3.10 at $46.10 a barrel.

While shares and commodities remained the focus, the mood was similarly wary in the currency and bond markets.

US short- and medium-term Treasuries prices rose, with benchmark 10-year yields hitting a session low of 2.15 per cent after reaching a 1-1/2-week high of 2.22 per cent on Monday. The 10-year note was last up 6/32 in price.

The dollar sagged against the safe-haven yen and low-yielding euro as the Chinese data drove investors to unwind bets against the two currencies widely used to fund positions in riskier assets.

The dollar fell more than 1 per cent to 119.9 yen, while the euro rose 1 per cent to $1.1332.

Russia’s ruble was among the hardest-hit emerging market currency as the price of oil fell.

Fragile China

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, summed up the global outlook in a speech in Indonesia, where she said global economic growth was now likely to be weaker than had been expected just a few months ago.

She cited a slower recovery in major advanced economies and a further slowdown in emerging nations and highlighted the need to “be vigilant for spillovers” from China’s stutters.

Spot gold rose to a session high of $1,147.16 an ounce and was up 0.9 per cent at $1,144.42 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange copper fell almost 1 per cent to $5,087.50 as markets reopened after a long holiday weekend. Nickel slid 2 per cent and aluminum skidded as well.

LONDON — A commentary written by a public relations team in a publication issued by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) helped oil prices jump and prompted speculation over a possible shift in output policy, to the bafflement of some OPEC insiders.

The article on Monday in the OPEC Bulletin, a magazine issued by OPEC’s Vienna headquarters, said downward pressure on prices due to higher production “remains a cause for concern” and OPEC “stands ready to talk to all other producers”.

While the 799-word article helped add another 8 per cent to oil’s three-day surge, by Tuesday it seemed clear there was no sign of a significant shift in OPEC policy or any indication of a fresh push to shore up markets, analysts and OPEC insiders said.

A Gulf delegate said the bulletin reflected genuine concern in OPEC about falling prices but it did not signal a policy shift or pending production cut.

“I see it as a message sent to the market that we are willing to talk to non-OPEC, we are concerned about prices and we are not closing our eyes to what’s going on,” he added

Another OPEC insider said: “I found it surprising,” referring to the jump in prices on Monday. “The bulletin wasn’t saying anything new.”

The bulletin, a glossy magazine, is written by OPEC’s public relations department based in Vienna and lists 12 editorial staff. It is reviewed by senior officials at the OPEC secretariat before publication.

In the magazine, the following disclaimer appears under the heading “editorial policy”: “The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of OPEC nor its member countries.”

While the Bulletin has included similar commentaries on the market before, in April it criticised unidentified non-member countries for not cooperating in propping up prices, it does not tend to move oil prices.

Traders are wondering whether OPEC and its de-facto leader Saudi Arabia will stick with the policy adopted in 2014 of defending market share, even after the slide in oil prices to their lowest in more than six years last month.

While Saudi Arabia has not commented publicly, some had seen the bulletin as indicating a shift.

“Yesterday the market got somewhat excited by the editorial of the OPEC Bulletin,” said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix. “This was read by some market participants as making a first overture for a change of policy.”

The excitement appeared to be fading on Tuesday as Brent oil traded down 6.5 per cent by 1507 GMT.

AMMAN — Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation (JIEC) announced on Monday that a food packing project valued at JD15 million was established on a 24-dunum plot of land at the Muwaqqar Industrial Estate (MIE).

JIEC Chief Executive Ali Madadha and Rotogravia Jordan Director General Walid Kilani signed the agreement of the new project which is expected to generate 500 jobs in its initial operational phases, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

Madadha said the corporation has prepared a comprehensive promotional plan to attract more industrial investments through providing all incentives that can lead to their success in the Kingdom, the statement added.

For his part, Kilani said that incentives, exemptions, services and the flexibility of laws contributed to making Rotogravia inaugurate a new branch in MIE, especially that running businesses in industrial estates is characterised by simple procedures and affordable prices for rents or ownerships.

By the end of June, 2015, MIE attracted around 50 industrial investments that are worth JD323.65, providing some 1,640 job opportunities in different production sectors, the statement added.

PARIS — France has been intimidated by Germany into pursuing an economic policy that isn't working, according to Nobel Prize winner economist Joseph Stiglitz.

"There is a kind of intimidation," Stiglitz, an outspoken opponent of austerity policy, said of the influence of Germany over the economic policy pursued by President Francois Hollande.

Stiglitz also said he agreed with former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis that Germany's intransigence against Athens was aimed at striking fear in Paris and convincing the French government to continue austerity policies.

"The centre-left government in France has not been able to stand up against Germany" on its budget policy, eurozone policy, or on the response to the Greek crisis, said the former World Bank chief economist and adviser to US president Bill Clinton.

Regarding the European Union, he criticised Brussels for focusing on nominal deficits of member states rather than those adjusted for the economic cycle, as well as the policy response. 

"Cutting taxes and expenditures contracts the economy, just the opposite to what you need," Stiglitz indicated in an interview on Monday. "I do not understand why Europe is now trying that after all the evidence, all the theory says it does not work." 

He remarked that the "totally discredited" policy now only has support in Germany and a few people in France.

Stiglitz, who is in France to promote the translation of his latest book, "The Great Divide", said the "centre-left has lost confidence in its progressive agenda".

He noted that former British prime minister Tony Blair, ex-German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and US President Barack Obama all supported the "banking system, have supported deregulation, trade agreements that are bad for ordinary workers".

Stiglitz said Schroeder can be viewed as a success from the point of view of accomplishing a so-called internal devaluation when competitiveness is increased by reducing wage costs, but that "you make ordinary workers suffer".

He added that before the global economic crisis France had been one of the nations that had most embraced equality, but that austerity policies have put that at risk.

"The policies of austerity are at the heart of the increase in inequality," Stiglitz stressed

Separately, Germany posted a record-breaking 21-billion-euro surplus in the first half of 2015 but has turned a deaf ear to criticism from home and abroad that it should cut taxes or raise public spending to help alleviate pressures in the eurozone.

Despite calls from its European Union (EU) partners and the United States to ramp up spending on infrastructure after years of neglect, the government said it will stick to its austerity course and goal of achieving sustainable balanced budgets.

Economists believe Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative-led government is also tacitly trying to teach other EU governments the virtues of balanced budgets as a cure for the eurozone crisis. Her party is expected to use Germany's return to budget surpluses as a cornerstone of its 2017 election campaign.

"Balancing the budget was a central pledge in the 2013 election and they want to tick that box," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-Diba, adding that Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble wants to show Europe he "practices what he preaches".

"There's a horrible lack of investment in the economy yet the government is running an enormous surplus. It doesn't add up. More flexibility would be good. With such low interest rates they should reconsider. But flexibility isn't in the German DNA," he indicated.

In Brussels, the European Commission urges Germany to use its "fiscal space" to promote growth in the EU..

French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told a Berlin audience last week that Germany may have gone too far with austerity. 

"Germany can make a mistake of 'over-consolidating'," he said.

But Brzeski remarked that foreign leaders are giving up arm-twisting "because Schaeuble has convinced them he won't spend any more".

Schaeuble mantra

The government said on Tuesday Germany's budget surplus was 21.1 billion euros in the first half, or 1.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). About half of the surplus came from the federal budget, which was boosted by a 4.4-billion-euro windfall from the sale of mobile phone frequencies.

The first half surplus was larger than Iceland's entire 2014 GDP.

Whereas France, the eurozone's second biggest economy, is still struggling to bring its deficit down to below the EU's 3 per cent cap, leaving Paris little room to boost still-fragile growth rates.

Schaeuble planned a balanced budget in 2015, not a surplus. He and officials in his ministry have kept mum about the surplus but in July he told trade magazine DBB: "The plan through to the 2019 budget is no new debt. If there were to be added scope, we'd use that for important investments for the future."

Defying the eurozone crisis that crippled growth and caused tensions, Germany's federal government posted a 500-million-euro budget surplus in 2014, its first surplus since 1969.

At the same time, Germany's infrastructure investment has lagged for years. A group of mayors said last year that 118 billion euros of investment was needed for roads and buildings, while another public committee has called for investments of 7.2 billion euros a year to fix public transport infrastructure.

Charles Blankart, a public finance professor at Humboldt University, says the government has scope to raise infrastructure spending. "But it won't help French or Spanish companies if Germany builds more roads."

The budget surplus has also prompted calls for tax cuts, especially the so-called "cold progression" (or bracket creep) as well as a "Solidarity Tax" used to finance unification.

"This record surplus shows the 'Solidarity Tax' is no longer needed," Frank Steffel, a member of parliament in Merkel's party, told Reuters. "It would cause no pain to cut that now."

Steffel remarked that Germany should open its wallet now.

"The considerable surplus should be given back to taxpayers," he said. "And investment spending, especially for education and infrastructure, would be a most effective instrument."

AMMAN — Al-Mehanya for Real Estate Investments and Housing Co. is returning JD8.8 million in cash to shareholders after obtaining the required regulatory approvals. 

The company announced this month in the local Arabic dailies that investors who owned Al-Mehanya shares on July 2, 2015 should contact branches of Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank until the end of this year to collect their share of the cash refund.

The cash refund, authorised by the 3rd extraordinary general assembly meeting of shareholders in April 2015, was decided to reduce the company's capital by 20 per cent to JD35.2 million from JD44 million.

The announcement also told the shareholders who did not receive cash refunds when the capital was reduced in 2012 from JD55 million to JD44 million that they can collect both amounts in a single payment this year.

Before voting on the capital reduction during the extraordinary general assembly meeting, some shareholders mentioned other proposals.

A shareholder suggested liquidating the company and distributing the money among the shareholders because its expenses are high and it invests in corporations that do not yield profits in the stock exchange.

Another recommended constructing a building on the plot of land in Tlaa Al Ali/Gardens Street. She said the building can consist of halls and chambers for holding meetings and festive events as well as recreational areas and playgrounds or it can be used as offices for the company or even a five-star hotel.

Others commended the reduction describing the proposal as the best that would enable the company to better manage the capital.

"The company was established during difficult circumstances and the market cannot absorb the large capital," on of the shareholders said.

Another said the company possessed high liquidity noting that utilsing JD35 million is more apt  than working with JD44 million and describing the firm's situation now as better.

"If I had my portion of the shares with me, I would have invested it in a better way than Al-Mehanya," came a response from a stakeholder. "I propose investing in corporations at the stock exchange that distribute dividends."

Further reactions called for a capital reduction greater than 20 per cent because that would be in the interest of the company and the shareholders.

"Reducing the capital is a reasonable decision because un-invested liquidity is financially not viable," added another. "The reduction carries benefits and there will be a higher rate of dividends next year."

Al-Mehanya Chairman Majed Al Tabbaa assured the general assembly that the board of directors was extremely vigilant regarding shareholders money and unwilling to take chances in light of prevailing conditions.

Tabbaa said the company can afford to set up new projects from the proceeds of the current readily available ones when they are sold.

The chairman defended the decision not to distribute dividends indicating that the company's profit last year represented 3 per cent of the capital which was a modest rate that the board of directors opted to retain in order to hand out a higher rate to shareholders in the coming year.

The outlook for 2015 may not match elevated expectations and could even be dismal because the mid-year performance was discouraging.

The interim income statement as of June 30, 2015 showed a sharp fall in earnings and in profit.

Earnings from land and real estate sales plunged from JD5.8 million at the end of June 2014 to JD1 million on June 30, 2015 and the JD0.6 million profit became a loss of JD0.2 million.

Impairment loss, as a result of an appraisal of financial assets at fair value, contributed to the mid-year drawback. The financial assets at fair value at the end of June 2015 amounted to JD3 million, down from JD3.5 million at the end of June 2014.

The 2015 mid-year balance sheet showed the company's total assets at JD49.2 million, of which JD19.9 million were land available for sale and JD12.8 million of real estate also ready for sale.

Time deposits at an Islamic bank totaled JD5.2 million besides JD4.2 million of cash and quasi cash.

Al-Mehanya's operational activities were detailed in the 7th annual report which described the performance in 2014 as a qualitative leap.

"In 2014, the company began reaping the fruits of the real estate investments it embarked on in the previous years," the chairman said in a foreword, indicating that the company's pretax profit reached about JD1.3 million, JD1.1 million or 387 per cent higher than the amount posted in 2013.

The financial statement as of December 31, 2014 incorporated the results of nine subsidiaries which are mostly engaged in housing, land development and construction activities. 

Tabbaa said Al-Mehanya was able to capture an acceptable market share as a result of selling various apartments, villas and land, highlighting in particular Rawabi Al Israa, Riyadh Al Muhandiseen and Hanina/Madaba as primary and successful projects.

According to the annual report, income from land and apartment sales reached JD10.8 million last year, 250 per cent higher than the JD3.1 million achieved in 2013. 

Noting that real estate prices rose by 8 per cent last year, he mentioned land purchases in Al Salahiyeh/Al Jiza and Al Thuheybeh Al Gharbiyeh as additional investments to the company's portfolio besides obtaining approval to develop a plot of land in Rawabi Al Bsheri/Al Salt's sarou vicinity.  

In summary, the company estimated its capital investment at JD49.6 million of which JD13..2 million were  in real estate ready for sale, JD19.6 million in land for sale, and JD0.5 million in  investments in affiliates.

The report included a statement from a sharia consultancy control group, contracted by Al-Mehanya to provide it with Islamic advisory services, confirming that the company adhered to sharia discipline in the contracts and dealings that were reviewed in 2014.

The sharia consultancy control group recommended that Al-Mehanya continue its actual real estate operations as predetermined and dispose of investments in shares of un-Islamic and weak companies.

"Share speculation should definitely be avoided," it said. "If shares of large and successful corporations are kept, that should only be for obtaining dividends and not for trading and speculation."

It emphasised the importance of utilising unused funds in various feasible projects and not be contended with depositing them in Islamic banks.

Al-Mehanya  employed 20 workers at the end of last year and those which owned more than 5 per cent of the equity at the time were: Pension fund of members of Jordan Engineers Association (11.7 per cent), Arab East Financial  Investment Company (7.4 per cent), and Muzon Real Estate Company (6.7 per cent).

AQABA — The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) set a new record with an export shipment totalling 75,000 tonnes of to India, JPMC Chief Executive Officer Shafiq Ashqar described the shipment as the largest noting that the previous record was around two weeks ago, when the company exported 70,000 tonnes on one vessel.

AMMAN — Technical, financial and economic help from the US contributed to economic development in the Kingdom, Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) President Montaser Oqlah said Saturday.

According to a JIC statement released Saturday, he added during a meeting with US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells and an accompanying delegation that the strong Jordanian-US partnership led to implementing joint programmes. 

Oqlah underlined the importance of the commission's tasks to boost Jordan's competitive investment climate in international markets. 

"The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation in the investment and economic fields and highlighted the importance of the Jordanian-US partnership in serving the public in both countries," the statement said.

"Oqlah reviewed economic reforms that led to important economic developments such as amending laws and legislations as well as signing Arab and international agreements to open new export markets and formulate economic and finance policies," it added.

The JIC chief stressed that economic agreements and policies contributed to an attractive environment for investment, and highlighted the establishment of  investment window which licences business activities in the Kingdom and reviews licensing measures to simplify them, 

He described the investment window as a "quantum leap" to serving investors and improve the work environment, according to Oqlah. 

Wells commended the depth of the Jordanian-US relations in most fields, particularly the economic development.

DUBAI/LONDON — A second oil price rout of 2015 has forced Arab members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut their price expectations for this year, showing they are prepared to tolerate cheaper crude for longer to defend market share and curb rivals' output.

OPEC delegates, including those from core Gulf countries, see economic troubles in top energy consumer China as short term and unlikely to have much impact on demand for crude which will rise seasonally in the fourth quarter.

But they also believe it will take more than just a few months for weak oil prices, which fell to a more than six-year low near $42 on Monday, to reduce supplies from higher-cost producers such as US shale and stimulate demand.

They expect the recent price drop will help reduce the crude oversupply towards the end of the year and thus lift oil prices slightly.

The comments further indicate that OPEC is sticking to its policy of defending market share rather than cutting production to shore up prices, regardless of how low they would fall and how long it would take to balance the market.

"It will be better to leave the market to correct itself. I don't think this low price will continue," said a Gulf OPEC delegate who declined to be identified.

"Prices will be around $40-$50 a barrel until the end of the year and hopefully they will reach $60, assuming there will be a recovery in China," he added.

A second Gulf OPEC delegate also expected the oil price to remain around $40-$50 a barrel for the rest of the year.

A third Gulf oil source said: "People are over-reacting to China. But you cannot underestimate the sentiment, that's the problem."

"Oil is bottoming... and the deeper it goes the more the rebound will be quicker and the supply reaction will be even bigger," the source indicated, adding that prices may dip again to slightly below $45 before slowly recovering to around $60 by December when OPEC meets next.

Arab OPEC delegates initially thought prices would recover more quickly after the group's shift to the market-share strategy in 2014 deepened the decline, saying last December they saw oil between $70 and $80 by the end of 2015.

Other OPEC delegates outside the Gulf are also bracing for a prolonged period of low prices as they do not expect the group's top producer Saudi Arabia, the driving force behind OPEC's refusal to cut output, to change course and prop up prices.

"If this oversupply continues with no action from OPEC or Saudi Arabia, then I expect prices will stay around $45 until the end of the year," said one.

Longer-term strategy

As a policy, OPEC has not openly targeted specific oil prices for over a decade, ever since it abandoned a $22 to $28 price band instituted after a price crash in the late 1990s.

But the comments signal how big producers see the market playing out and that OPEC's strategy championed by Saudi Arabia is not a short-term one, but rather a plan that needs time to work and they are willing to wait.

Gulf oil insiders see no sign of Saudi Arabia wavering on its long-term strategy.

"This is not going to be two-three quarters' adjustments, this is going to be a two-three years' adjustments," indicated Yasser Elguindi of economic consultants Medley Global Advisors.

OPEC reconfirmed the market-share strategy at its last meeting in June and the Gulf OPEC delegates were still expecting a recovery in prices towards the end of 2015, supported by higher global demand.

But those sentiments have changed with the latest unexpected price drop, growing concern about the demand outlook in China and persistent oversupply.

OPEC's own forecasts show the group initially overestimated the speed at which low prices would curb non-OPEC supply. This, plus record-high output from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, point to an oversupply of more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd).

A big uncertainty in 2016 is the extent to which Iran boosts production if and when sanctions are lifted. Iran's insistence that it will take back more than 1 million bpd of market share has worried the Gulf members.

Still, even OPEC members who are less wealthy than Gulf Arab producers and want higher prices agree the latest drop would mean less oversupply in coming months, potentially supporting prices in the last quarter of the year.

"Prices around $50-$55 is the maximum of what I expect by the end of this year. This is because of less crude supplies due to the low oil price," another OPEC delegate said.    

Separately, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday that Tehran will ramp up crude oil production and reclaim its lost share of exports shortly after international sanctions on the OPEC member are lifted.

Iran and six world powers agreed a deal in July to curb Tehran's nuclear programme, but sanctions imposed in 2012 will not be lifted until Iran has complied with all the terms of the pact.

Britain's foreign minister said on Monday that international sanctions on Iran could start to be lifted as early as spring next year.

At a news conference in Tehran, Zanganeh said Iran should sell its crude regardless of the oil price.

"We should sell our oil whether the price falls or goes to $100 [a barrel]. Even though we would like to sell our oil more expensively, the price is determined by the market," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Shana, the oil ministry's news agency.

"After lifting sanctions, Iran will take back the market share of more than 1 million barrels a day that it lost," he said.

Zanganeh indicated that Iran would raise its production by 500,000 bpd once sanctions were lifted and that a further 500,000 bpd would be added shortly after that.

Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Iran could raise its oil output by as much as 730,000 bpd from current levels fairly quickly after sanctions were removed.

Iranian oilfields, which pumped around 2.87 million bpd in July, could increase production to between 3.4 million and 3.6 million bpd within months of sanctions being lifted, the West's energy watchdog said.

The report by the Paris-based IEA suggested any increase in output would probably be more modest than Iranian estimates, and said Tehran would need massive investment to raise production capacity.

Zanganeh also said Iran's oil exports had increased by 15 per cent in the first four months of the current Iranian year, which starts around March 20, compared to the same period last year. He gave no further details.

AMMAN — The Egyptian government is willing to address any shortcomings in the economic relations with Jordan in a way that serves the interests of both sides, Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister Munir Abdul Nour said Saturday.

At a meeting with a Jordanian economic delegation comprising representatives of different sectors, headed by Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad, Abdul Nour expressed initial approval of the delegation's request to hold a permanent exhibition for Jordanian products in Cairo, according to an ACC statement.

The minister encouraged the Jordanian private sector to enhance relations with its Egyptian peer, which will help increase economic exchange between the two countries, noting that Jordanian investments in Egypt enjoy many facilities and incentives.

Murad said it is possible for both countries to increase the trade exchange to more than its current value of $600 million, noting that the number does not reflect the deep-rooted bilateral relations, the statement added.

At the end of the meeting, ACC and its counterpart in Cairo signed a memorandum of understanding to establish joint executive committees to unify both countries' sectors views in some issues.

AMMAN — Simplifying and facilitating business procedures is a priority for the government, Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali told secretary generals of ministries and directors of public institutions on Thursday.

She debated with senior officials the possibility of reducing the number of approvals needed for registering companies and sole proprietorships in order to remove all obstacles hindering the flow of investments.

In a statement to The Jordan Times, Ali was quoted as saying that about 360 economic activities were found to require approvals by 35 official entities, citing a review conducted by the ministry.

She said some of the approvals can be canceled in coordination with concerned institutions, stressing the need for revisiting some of the relevant investment-related laws, according to the statement.

The meeting recommended adopting the fourth revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC, Rev.4) for registering and licensing businesses in the Kingdom starting January 2016.

The meeting also recommended the possibility of linking the approvals of multiple issuing agencies electronically to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply in addition to accrediting e-mails to exchange approvals, the statement said.

 In the quest to attract more investments to Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah has stressed the importance of simplifying bureaucratic and administrative measures.