Business

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.

AMMAN — About 60 per cent of banks present in Jordan operate departments specialised in financing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to a study conducted by the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ).

ABJ Director General Adli Qandah mentioned in an address about the Jordanian experience in financing SMEs that 76 per cent of banks in the Kingdom have qualified personnel to serve their SME clients.

The study, he said, showed that around 95 per cent of Jordan's commercial banks offer ovedrafts, 38 per cent extend financing for working capital, 33 per cent provide revolving credit and letters of credits, 29 per cent give short-term loans and 24 per cent offer medium- and long-term loans.

As for Islamic banks' facilities to SMEs, the study noted that 75 per cent of Islamic banks offer profit sharing to buy and import goods and raw materials in addition  to financing fixed assets and real estate.

The average interest rate for facilities granted to SMEs range between 10 and 12 per cent, the study indicated noting that 88 per cent of banks in Jordan consider their products to be suitable to meet SMEs' needs.

Some 60 per cent of banks turn down less than 10 per cent of SMEs loan requests, the study revealed, attributing the rejection to ambiguity of requests, lack of clarity of income resources, absence of financial statements, improper guarantees, low experience, high indebtedness and weak  feasibility. 

Facilities granted to SMEs accounted for around 13 per cent of the total facilities granted by 65 per cent of banks, while 58 per cent of banks expressed intention to increase financing targeting SMEs. 

Maher Mahrouq, director general of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, said financing SMEs projects needs a solution, noting that the financing gap in the Kingdom is still wide, with the World Bank estimating the volume to reach around $2 billion a year.

Interest rates in the Kingdom are among the highest in the region, which is considered the main obstacle for financing SMEs, Mahrouq added, noting that Jordan ranks 185 among 189 countries in the World Bank's index for securing loans.

The industrialist highlighted the chamber's role in empowering SMEs projects, saying the chamber had established a special unit in cooperation with international institutions to enable SMEs get loans and fill the gap between supply and demand.

AMMAN — Developments in the region, especially the drop in oil prices, require  a "genuine" stance to empower small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), experts said Wednesday.

During a forum, titled "SMEs: The Road to Economic Growth", Arab economists and bankers stressed the need for a holistic strategy to address challenges facing micro businesses which are deemed as drivers for national stability and growth.

Despite accounting for around 50 per cent of gross domestic product ( GDP) in Arab countries, challenges facing SMEs range from financing, training and marketing to innovation and sustainability. 

While nearly 90 per cent of the regional economies are driven by SMEs, participants underlined the "poor" policies towards them, urging for establishing ministries designated to serving the sector.  

Arab economists and bankers highlighted trends adopted by their respective governments to nurture this dynamic sector, especially in light of the drop in oil prices and political instability.

"It is true that in times of economic downturn, SMEs are the first to be affected, but they are the first to interact and grow in times of prosperity," said Fouad Zmokhol, president of the Lebanese Businessmen Association.

Officials at the two-day forum, organised by the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), mentioned that the lack of innovation and sufficient technical and financial support hinder SMEs from reaching their full capacity and becoming large businesses.  

"The inability to access financial resources is related to the incomplete reform efforts in many Arab countries and having legal loopholes that result in maximising banks' potential losses," said Marwan Awad, chairman of Association of Banks in Jordan.

Majid Al Suri, member of the Central Bank of Iraq's board of directors agreed, underlining the need of Arab countries to identify the type of market economy they embrace as a way to identify the type of projects they need to encourage. 

"Till this day, Arab states have no specific type of market economy…banks should work towards entrenching a culture of free work among young people," he stressed.   

In the Kingdom, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has channeled around JD1 billion to SMEs through banks at very competitive conditions, CBJ Governor Ziad Fariz told the forum. 

"The government is planning to establish a fund to provide guarantees for start-up loans...," he said.  

Fariz indicated that the lack of updated and accurate data on the SMEs financing activities  does not help identify the exact issues they face. 

Adel Sharkas, CBJ deputy governor, noted that the budget deficit in Jordan is in "better shape" now and no longer competes with SMEs for financing. 

"The government's financing needs used to stand at JD1 billion in the past three years, but with the drop in oil prices, the deficit is improving. This would definitely benefit the SMEs," he said. 

According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) survey, which covered the period between May 2013 and April 2014, almost 70 per cent of Jordanian firms that needed a loan were either discouraged from applying for a credit or rejected when they did, which is above the SEMED average of 57.2 per cent and the average for the rest of the region (47.5 per cent).

More than three quarters of young firms and over 70 per cent of SMEs were credit-constrained, compared with 68.1 per cent of old and 19.7 per cent of large firms, the survey showed.  It involved the four countries where the bank works in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region: Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Political instability was among the top five concerns in all four countries, and was the biggest concern for Egypt and Tunisia, according to the study.

Regarding access to finance in Jordan, the EBRD report indicated that only 16.7 per cent of the firms had a loan or a line of credit, well below the SEMED average of 32.1 per cent and the rest of the EBRD region average of 37.4 per cent. 

A recent study suggested that the banking sector in Jordan is reluctant to lend to SMEs because they are unable to pledge enough collateral.

AMMAN —  As Jordan steps up imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Gulf Agency Company (GAC) said Wednesday in a press statement that it handled the first gas carriers that offloaded at Aqaba.

The country has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Shell for the delivery of nearly 17 million cubic metres per day of gas, equal to approximately 25 per cent of the National Electric Power Company’s (NEPCO) daily needs, signaling an increase in demand for shipping and logistics services to support incoming LNG) carriers.

"GAC Jordan acted as agent for the ‘Golar Eskimo’ when it made its port call to offload 144,218 cubic metres of LNG from Qatar," the press release said.

"As Golar’s agent and partner of choice in the country, GAC Jordan delivered a host of integrated services to the vessel including online connectivity and resupply, whilst also taking care of all the vessel’s manpower, equipment and marine assets needs." It added.

GAC Jordan has handled ship-to-ship transfers of LNG from the “Castillo De Santisteban”, the first LNG carrier to call at Aqaba, and the “SCF Melampus”, to the “Golar Eskimo”. After loading, the LNG was regasified and pumped as natural gas to the NEPCO’s power stations.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING — China's central bank cut interest rates and lowered the amount of reserves banks must hold for the second time in two months on Tuesday, ratcheting up support for a stuttering economy and a plunging stock market that has sent shockwaves around the globe.

The moves came after Chinese stocks tumbled again on Tuesday, as investors despaired at the lack of policy action from Beijing in response to recent data suggesting the downturn in the world's second-largest economy was deepening.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said it was cutting the one-year benchmark bank lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.6 per cent, cutting one-year benchmark deposit rates by the same amount, and reducing reserve requirements (RRR) by 50 basis points to 18 per cent for most big banks.

Major Chinese stock indexes nosedived more than 7 per cent on Tuesday, hitting their lowest levels since December, following a more than 8 per cent plunge on Monday.

The slump had resumed last week despite Beijing's efforts to arrest a 30 per cent crash earlier in the summer with hundreds of billions of dollars of state-backed share purchases. 

This time, the government appeared to be sitting on its hands until Tuesday's response, which aimed more at shoring up economic fundamentals than underpinning stocks.

"Although this has some elements of giving comfort to the market, this is more about giving a real boost to the real economy so the government can continue to have its 7 per cent growth rate fulfilled," said Liu Li-Gang, China economist at ANZ Bank in Hong Kong.

Liu said the RRR cut was the most significant element of the PBoC action, as it would inject 650 billion yuan ($101 billion), into the economy and ease concerns of a "hard landing".

China, one of the main engines of the world economy, has overtaken Greece at the top of the worry list of global investors, who fret its economy is growing at a much slower pace than the official 7 per cent target for 2015.

"Currently, there is still downward pressure on China's economic growth," the central bank indicated in a separate statement. "There is also relatively big volatility in global financial markets, which require more flexible usage of monetary policy tools."

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the situation in China would be discussed by the Group of 20 (G-20) nations.

Futures limit-down

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen dropped 7.1 per cent on Tuesday, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 7.6 per cent to close below the psychologically significant 3,000-point level.

Underscoring the panic gripping the retail investors who dominate China's stock markets, all index futures contracts fell by the maximum 10 per cent daily limit, pointing to expectations of even deeper losses.

Though the PBoC move came after domestic markets had closed, stock markets in Europe jumped, and US stock futures were also given a lift.

After the turmoil in China rocked world equity and commodity markets on Monday, policymakers elsewhere in Asia sought to soothe fears about the broader impact on the global economy.

"I think it's important that people don't hyperventilate about these types of things," said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose country is heavily exposed to China, the biggest consumer of its commodity exports.

"It is not unusual to see stock market corrections. It is not unusual to see bubbles burst in particular markets and for there to be some flow-on effect in other stock markets, but the fundamentals are sound," he added.

This week's steep declines have taken Chinese stocks into negative territory for the year to date, although Leland Miller, president of China Beige Book International, pointed out that Chinese equity markets have shown little correlation with the real economy, either on the way up or the way down.

"Previous boom-bust cycles in Chinese stocks have also shown little or no connection to [apparent] economic performance," said Miller, whose firm provides anecdotal survey information about China based on the US Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" model.

European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Vitor Constancio said it was too early for the ECB to respond to China's market fall.

"Indications are that what we get out of China is that the economy is not decelerating so much to justify the rout in the stock market," he told journalists on the sidelines of a conference.

No rescue?

While there is little evidence that the stock market mayhem has dampened consumer spending so far, concerns about the economy intensified after factory activity shrank at its fastest pace in almost six-and-a-half years and the central bank unexpectedly devalued its yuan currency earlier this month.

A majority of analysts, however, predicts a continued deceleration, rather than a crash, for China's economy, and dismisses comparisons with the 2008 Global Financial Crisis or the 1997/98 crisis in Asia.

"The current panic is essentially 'made in China'. The recent data from other major economies have generally been good and there is little to justify fears of a major global downturn," wrote economists at Capital Economics.

"China's recent economic data suggest that growth remains sluggish, but are not weak enough to justify fears of a hard landing," they said.

Some companies, too, have sought to reassure investors that China's economy is not about to go over the cliff, with Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and planemaker Boeing Co. making encouraging noises about China on Tuesday.

LONDON — European shares rose more than 4 per cent on Tuesday, their best one-day gain since late 2011, as a rate cut in China fuelled a recovery from a bruising 48-hour sell-off.

Battered mining and technology stocks were among the big winners when China moved to support its stuttering economy and a plunging stock market that had sent shockwaves around the globe.

"We think the corner in markets has been turned," Bank of America-Merrill Lynch strategists wrote in a note to clients. "We would acknowledge, though, that this sell-off has done some serious damage to markets and any recovery is likely to take time and be volatile."

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which slumped 5.4 per cent on Monday, closed up 4.2 per cent. The blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 4.7 per cent.

German chipmaker Infineon rose 10 per cent while miner Antofagasta gained 8.7 per cent.

Swiss agricultural chemicals company Syngenta was up 5.9 per cent after a source said that Monsanto had sweetened a takeover offer.

World financial markets have been rattled by a sell-off in the Chinese stock market after the devaluation of the yuan this month.

Some investors took heart from a rise in the German IFO  business climate index for August and said that domestic demand across Europe was showing broadly positive signs.

"There are solid reasons to be worried about the global growth outlook, given emerging markets and systemic fears in China," said Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, head of multi-asset strategy at NN Investment Partners. "However, it is a risk, not yet a reality, that this will spread to the developed world. The IFO number this morning... shows domestic demand is holding up quite well so far," he added.

Goldman cuts equities position

Goldman Sachs' strategists cut their position on equities to “neutral” from “overweight” because of the drop in China, though they did not expect the sell-off to cause a global recession, citing signs of economic growth in the United States and Europe.

"In the meantime, we recognise the shift in sentiment that is being reflected in recent price action both in equities and, via falling inflation expectations, in bonds," they wrote in a note. 

AMMAN — Jordan Vegetable Oil Industries Company (JVOI) is suing distributors and buyers for about JD3.2 million owed to it within the normal course of business activity.

In a disclosure to the Jordan Securities Commission, the company said  the lawsuits entailed dues in the form of receivables and bounced cheques.

According to the balance sheet as of June 30, 2015, JVOI's receivables totalled JD3.5 million.

The commercial receivables as shown in the balance sheet at the end of last year amounted to JD5.5 million.

Out of this figure, JD2.9 million was deducted as a provision for doubtful assets, leaving net commercial receivables at JD2.6 million.

The total became JD3.5 million when around JD0.8 million in cheques under collection and other dues were added. 

At the end of 2013, net commercial receivables was higher at JD3.8 million.

The auditor said in notes accompanying the 2014 balance sheet that the company expects to collect the doubtful assets in full.

"The company filed lawsuits to collect the doubtful assets it is owed by debtors," the notes stated. "JVOI obtained some guarantees from a limited number of clients but for the remaining receivables, the company does not require security."

Board Chairman Kameel Saad Al Deen told the shareholders in the annual report that the company was continuing a precautionary approach by computing a yearly provision against previous dues whose collection remained doubtful.

In both 2014 and 2013, JD250,000 were added each year as doubtful assets and much smaller amounts were written off as bad debts.

Despite the large financial obligations owed to JVOI by several traders in the market, the company remained profitable even to disburse cash dividends to shareholders at a rate of 7 per cent in recognition of its 2014 performance as recommended by the board of directors and approved by the shareholders this year.

Mid-year results showed a JD0.4 million net profit, slightly higher than the JD0.3 million registered at the end of June 2014 despite a slight decline in sales to JD2.5 million from JD2.6 million.

The impresssive spots in the  income statement as of June 30, 2015 were the ability of the company to reduce production costs and purchases to JD1.6 million from JD1.9 million besides financing expenses.

The performance last year was also positive as net pretax profit came at JD0.6 million compared to JD0.4 million at the end of 2013 although sales were lower at JD5.6 million from JD5.7 million.

Local sales amounted to JD5.3 million and exports JD0.3million.

The board of directors mentioned in a summary report that output in 2014 reached around 3,800 tonnes of vegetable ghee, higher than the 3,600 tonnes of ghee and vegetable oils produced in the previous year.

The summary report estimated the company's market share for its Al Ghazal vegetable ghee at 50 per cent and said JVOI froze oil production due to the present conditions in the market. 

Saad Al Deen indicated in the annual report that market competition was stiff and that traders resorted to importing from neighbouring countries at competitive prices.

He said some local industries were selling poor quality products at prices that cannot be challenged.

"We hereby renew our call to all parties concerned with the industry to take the measures that safeguard the local industry," he wrote in a foreword. 

"Dumping and flooding local markets with imports negatively affects the volume of factory sales," Saad Al Deen said.

The chairman also urged control over locally packed products that do not conform to standards and specifications 

He stressed that the company's competitive position became difficult because some traders were only operating packing units and not plants noting that JVOI cannot perform the same foul methods.

As such, the two risks that face the company during 2015 and the year after were listed as inability to collect some previous receivables and price competition.

Future plans include lowering electricity, fuel and labour costs, and  increasing market share through producing a new type of ghee and launching promotion campaigns.

"Based on the projected budget, local sales and exports are expected to  rise and generate profit as the company is continuing on the same course," the report said, mentioning the United States, Canada among the markets abroad in addition to Gulf Arab states.

The report detailed certain aspects of JVOI's operations indicating that three Malaysian corporations were key suppliers and that Habibeh Sweets and Al Nijmeh Sweets were among its main local customers besides wholesalers.

JVOI, operating at King Abullah II Industrial City in Sahab where it employed 65 workers at the end of 2014, estimated capital investment at  about JD6.2 million at the end of last year.

The factory was established in Amman in 1993 as a subsidiary of  a Palestinian firm established in Nablus in 1953. In 1998, the two factories were disconnected and each became a separate entity.

The shareholders who owned more than 5 per cent of JVOI's JD4 million capital at the end of last year were: Sabih Taher Al Masri (45.1 per cent) and Palestine Development & Investment Co. (17 per cent).

Financially, assets as of June 30, 2015 totalled JD6.1 million, of which JD1.5 million were property and equipment as well as real estate investments.

Current assets included JD0.9 million of inventory and JD3.5 in receivables as mentioned above.

Current liabilities, totaling JD0.7 million, were mostly accounts payable and no bank debt although the company enjoyed several lines of credit from the Arab Bank and Union Bank.

Shareholders equity, totaling JD5.4 million, included JD0.5 million retained earnings and JD0.9 million mandatory earnings.