Business

AMMAN –– The private sector wants to be involved in the Kingdom’s long-term economic development plan the government is working on in response to directives by His Majesty King Abdullah. 

Representatives of the sector warned they will not play a superficial role in the plan, stressing that they should be real partners in economic decisions as they are the largest  contributors to the state treasury. 

Concluding a two-day dialogue session on Tuesday to discuss the letter King Abdullah sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour late March, leading economists, former decision makers and businesspeople urged the government to draw up a clear 10-year goal-oriented plan for the economy. 

During the session, hosted by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC), participants issued a number of recommendations, which they said would lead to a stronger economic performance. 

“Addressing budget constraints should not be the only focus of government decisions, but also employment and the development of governorates should be taken into account,” the participants emphasised, calling for more stability in legislations in order to protect local and foreign investments. 

Recommendations announced by ACC President Issa Murad  called on the government to stop competing with the private sector for financing from local banks as such demand, according to them, pushed up "sharply" the cost of loans for private companies. 

They also stressed the need to establish a development bank in cooperation with the private sector to extend long-term loans at affordable interest rates. 

According to the experts, the government should work on cutting the size of the public sector by 2 per cent annually so spending on government salaries would be down by 20 per cent in 10 years. 

Improving the transportation infrastructure was also among the recommendations, besides underlining the importance of linking higher education with market labour needs. 

The participants urged supporting the agricultural sector to be able to meet domestic food consumption and lower the cost of imports. 

The participants made tens of recommendations, among which was also the need to cancel some independent government agencies and to merge some with other entities that perform relatively similar duties.      

AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Monday warned against dealing with local companies that claim to mediate with commercial banks in return of money. In a statement, the CBJ said some companies have announced readiness to present loans for citizens and mediate with commercial banks to obtain loans in return of fees, stressing that these companies are not licensed.  The CBJ underlined that banks are banned from dealing with such entities, noting that they are only allowed to extend loans according to their credit policy. People who wish to obtain a loan should directly head to the bank, according to the CBJ.

AMMAN — The Housing Bank announced in a press statement on Monday that pre-tax profit amounted to JD41 million during the first quarter (Q1) of 2014, 13.8 per cent higher than the JD36 million generated during the first quarter of last year.

According to the statement, after-tax net profit came at JD31.3 million, a 20.9 per cent increase over the JD25.9 million posted during the January-March period of 2012.

Chairman Michel Marto pointed out that interest and commission income rose by 7.2 per cent to JD75.4 million, and that  total assets increased by 3.2 per cent to JD7.5 billion by the end of March 2014. 

“Customer deposits balance rose by 3.4 per cent to JD5.3 billion, credit facilities portfolio increased by 4 per cent to JD3.1 billion, and equity rights by 2.8 per cent to JD1.1 billion,” Marto indicated in the statement.

The bank’s performance indicators showed capital adequacy ratio at 18.5 per cent, and liquidity at 158 per cent.

Efficiency index (expenses-to-income ratio) was about 41.8 per cent, according to the statement.

Marto concluded that the branches in Bahrain and Palestine and the subordinate banks in Algeria and Britain have achieved good results and that the International Bank for Trade and Finance/ Syria kept consistency and its achievement was compared with the performance of other banks there.

Two new branches were opened during the first quarter of this year  bringing the total in Jordan to 121 besides 204 ATMs after adding five ATMs.

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Monday received in his office Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci and the accompanying delegation of businessmen and Turkish private sector representatives. 

Ensour and Zeybekci discussed ways of boosting economic relations between the two countries. 

The premier welcomed the Turkish private sector to benefit from the investment opportunities in Jordan, and the possibility of being a gateway for Turkish products to reach the region’s markets. 

Zeybekci said the talks come in follow-up to His Majesty’s visit to Turkey in March 2013 so as to benefit from the incentives provided by the Kingdom.

Separately, Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Hatem Halawani on Monday commended the Jordanian-Turkish Partnership Council as a partnership agreement to establish a free trade zone between Jordan and Turkey. 

The partnership between the two countries started in 1980s and continued to develop until the trade exchange reached $855.2 million, with Turkish investments in the Kingdom reaching $114 million. 

The council aims at developing cooperation between the two countries, especially at the economic and commercial levels.

Earlier on Monday, Zeybekci and Halawani  attended the official opening ceremony  of the Kibar  Industry Mafraq plant.

 Kibar Industry Co., which is an affiliate of Kibar Holding, started operating  in Jordan on an area of 65,000-square-metres with 10,000-square-metre indoor area, in the city of Mafraq. 

The site is Kibar’s 4th plant manufacturing sandwich panel. The investment is part of the Assan Panel Group, which is the leading sandwich panel manufacturer in Turkey.

 The plant’s foundations were laid at the beginning of 2012, and it now has the highest capacity product line in the Middle East with a production capacity of 4.5 million square metres.

The plant manufactures roof and façade sandwich panels with polyurethane and polyisocyanurate insulation providing high fire-resistance as well as sandwich panels up to 20 centimetres thickness for cold storages.

AMMAN —  Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour affirmed on Monday Jordan’s sound economic position.

Inaugurating a regional conference on small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), the premier pointed to local economic indicators and foreign currency reserves as solid proof of real economic growth which accelerated from 2.3 per cent at the end of 2010 to 2.8 per cent last year.

Stressing that the Kingdom was no longer in the economic danger zone, he mentioned that foreign currency reserves went up from $6.6 billion in 2012 to around $12 billion at the end of last year and that the remittances of expatriates have gone up noticeably.

As such, Ensour noted that funds are sufficient to cover the country’s imports for a period of about seven months compared to less than four months during 2012.

The premier expressed appreciation of all the countries that supported the Kingdom during the difficult conditions, especially those related to the Syrian crisis.   

Ensour highlighted SMEs’ contribution for the development process, stressing the importance of the conference and the need to arrive at applicable recommendations that can help in providing a decent life for Jordanians.   

Last month, the government formed a higher committee to deal with financing SMEs, Ensour indicated, noting that the committee was entrusted with supporting SMEs in all possible ways.

Addressing the attendance, Industry and Trade Minister Hatem Halawani highlighted the government’s efforts to eliminate obstacles facing economy sector and SMEs, in particular. 

Jordan Chamber of Industry Chairman Ayman Hatahet highlighted the role of SMEs in dealing with the issue of unemployment, emphasising the role of the private sector in achieving comprehensive and sustainable development. 

 Entitled “Chambers of Industry and Trade and Business Organisations…Vehicles for Change,” the conference seeks to demonstrate best global practices and to assist SMEs in reaching finance sources. 

More than 99 per cent of Jordanian companies are SMEs, accounting for 40 per cent of the gross domestic product and hiring 70 per cent of the overall work force.

Out of 156,000 SMEs, 18,000 are industrial. 

Around 300 lecturers and other participants from Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, and Malaysia besides Jordan are taking part in the conference, organised by the Jordan Chamber of Industry, in cooperation with the Confederation of Danish Industry and the Arab Planning Institute.   

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) on Sunday expressed total shock over a decision, issued in the Official Gazette, imposing customs duties on exempted goods without taking the views of the commercial sector. In a statement, ACC President Haidar Murad said the decision will place additional financial and tax burdens on merchants and importers. According to the Official Gazette,  one per cent of the value of the already exempted goods will be levied in customs duties, provided that the amount is no less than JD25 and does not exceed JD2,000.  Murad said the government should re-consider the decision and stop it right away, until it is completely nullified.

AMMAN — Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) in cooperation with General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) and Apex Insurance will organise on Wednesday the second Apex Forum titled “Alternative Solutions”, according to a JIF statement sent to The Jordan Times. The two-day forum will discuss subjects related to the insurance of alternative energy stations, nuclear energy plants, fish farms, animals, antiques and kidnapping, and ransom. Insurance experts from international companies will provide working papers to participants in the forum and exchange their experience. Representatives from Munich Re, Aig, Swiss Re Corporate Solution, Ace Talbot, Apex, Adnic, Agrical, Aspen, Hw Wood & Lloyd’s Syndicates, and others will take part in the forum. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Press Foundation (JPF) on Sunday elected Samih Maaytah as board chairman and Mansour Nabulsi as deputy chairman during a board meeting following a general assembly meeting that was held earlier in the day.

During the meeting, the newly elected board asserted their commitment to pursuing policies to reduce expenditure and manage resources in a manner that fosters the JPF’s stability and safeguards employees’ rights. 

Meanwhile, JPF Director General Ibrahim Dweiri unveiled a board decision under which Al Rai’s new printing press near the airport road will become an independent corporate body. 

The decision is in line with the JPF’s restructuring plan.   

The JD37 million complex, constructed on a 10,000-square-metre plot of land, was inaugurated last year.

In 2013, the JPF, which publishes Al Rai Arabic daily and The Jordan Times, maintained the same level of aggregate profit, recorded in 2012, at JD4.7 million. 

Although JPF’s revenues went down to JD19.1 million in 2013 from JD20.4 million in 2012, due to a 17 per cent drop in advertisement earnings, the JPF managed to cut down its losses from JD4.6 million in 2012 to JD1.04 million in 2013.  

During its general assembly meeting, Deputy Abdul Rahim Biqaai and Amman Chamber of Commerce President Haidar Murad were elected as new board members, replacing Yanal Bustami and Azmi Al Kayed. 

Moreover, a representative of the Arab Bank was re-elected as a board member, representing the private secor.  

Board membership for the Social Security Corporation’s four seats was renewed while its fifth seat remained under the name of Rama Company for Saving and Investment.

Besides Dweiri, the SSC representatives include Maaytah, Suhair Al-Ali, Abdel Hafiz Ajlouni, and Mohammad Tarawneh as representative of Rama company.

AMMAN — An industrial delegation comprising members from Zarqa Chamber of Industry (ZCI) on Saturday left on an African tour that includes Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania to discuss ways of boosting cooperation in industrial fields with investors from these countries.

ZCI General Manager Mohammed Arsalan said the competitive characteristics of Zarqa and Mafraq contributed to attracting various investments and positively affected the export rates. 

Arsalan noted that despite the increase in export

 rates, the events the region during the past years and the closure of  land routes with Syria negatively affected the national industries that depend on land transportation to neighbouring markets.

He indicated that the seven-day visit to African countries includes programmes that support the export potential for ZCI members and find new substitute markets.

Representatives of 16 industrial companies from Zarqa and Mafraq governorates are  participating in this endeavour, the general manager remarked.

“Choosing these countries was due to the availability of marine transportation and because they are important gateways to the markets of other east African countries,” Arsalan indicated.

He said ZCI is considering organising similar tours to Kurdistan region in Iraq and Kazakhstan and it will also establish an export unit in cooperation with the US Chamber of Commerce.

Under this initiative, the US Chamber of Commerce will provide the ZCI with a database about US markets, importing companies and general statistics about the status of the US market.

The US Chamber of Commerce will establish necessary connections between Zarqa and Mafraq industrial companies and importers in the US, as well as providing ZCI with the necessary information about export mechanisms and their needs of different US standards, regulations, customs and shipping ways.

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group announced Saturday in a press statement that net profit after tax and provisions increased by 5.4 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of 2014. 

According to the statement, net profit reached  $216.3 million at the end of last month compared to $205.1 million at the end of March 2013.

“Customer deposits rose 4 per cent to $34.3 billion compared to  $33 billion and total credit facilities grew by 2.5% to $23.1 billion from $22.6 billion,” the bank pointed out.

Arab Bank’s Chairman Sabih Masri said the financial performance during the first quarter reflected the progress the bank continues to make in implementing its strategy of diversifying income sources and concentrating  on operating revenues in all the countries in which it operates.

Chief Executive Officer Nemeh Sabbagh attributed this level of profitability to the bank’s success in dealing with local and regional developments.

“It shows that the bank’s prudent credit policies continue to preserve the overall quality of our credit portfolio, resulting in lower provisions for non-performing loans compared to the same period last year,” Sabbagh said.

He emphasised that the bank remains focused on its core operational activities as it raised net interest and commissions by 4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively compared to the same period last year. 

According to Sabbagh, the bank continues to maintain a high level of liquidity with its loan to deposit ratio at 61.1 per cent and its capital adequacy ratio standing at 14.6 per cent.

Masri concluded in the press statement by affirming that “Arab Bank will remain committed to providing banking solution at the highest standards throughout its extensive branch network across the Arab world and globally maintaining solid financial indicators and high quality of assets.”