CBJ publishes results of 4th Foreign Investment Survey

AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday shared the results of the Foreign Investment Survey 2019-2020, which is the most inclusive in terms of the target enterprises and the volume of detailed data, according to CBJ Governor Adel Sharkas.

The survey was carried out in cooperation with the Department of Statistics (DoS) and funded by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, with the participation of the Companies Control Department (CCD).

Sharkas stressed the importance of this survey, noting that such data can help improve the comprehensiveness of balance of payments statistics, international investment status, external debt statistics and their role in meeting the statistical needs of users, researchers and economic policymakers.

The CBJ governor added that this survey covers foreign investment according to "functional groups" such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), portfolio investment and others.

Sharkas stressed the need to maintain the continuity of conducting this survey in the future, and to follow up on the movement of foreign investments to and from the Kingdom.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh stated that the survey aims to provide a detailed and updated database that reflects the position of foreign investment in the Kingdom, noting that the survey’s publication coincides with the launch of the Economic Modernisation Vision, in which attracting foreign and domestic investment is a main priority. 

Shraideh noted that this survey, the fourth in a series of foreign investment surveys conducted in 2006, 2008 and 2010, was carried out electronically according to the Department of Statistics (DoS) database and the relevant official institutions. He also noted that the survey covered 1,934 private enterprises with a response rate of 74.9 per cent.

The survey results showed that the total foreign investment in the Kingdom reached JD34.7 billion by the end of 2020, JD19.8 billion of which comes from FDI.

The United Arab Emirates accounted for the lion's share of these investments, reaching 14 per cent by the end of 2020 , followed by the UK at 8.2 per cent. Kuwait ranked third at 7.2 per cent, Bahrain at 7 per cent, and France at 6.2 per cent.

In terms of FDI distribution according to economic activity, the finance and insurance sector accounted for 25.2 per cent of FDI volume, followed by manufacturing at 15.9 per cent, and mining and quarrying at third place, accounting for 10.3 per cent. Construction and real estate constituted 9.7 per cent each.

The survey results showed that portfolio investments in the Kingdom reached JD3.1 billion by the end of 2020, with Saudi Arabia ranking first, accounting for 23.5 per cent of the total balance.

Kuwait was second, with 9.9 per cent, while Palestine was third with 8.4 per cent, and the United Arab Emirates totalled 5.6 per cent.

In terms of distribution, the finance and insurance sector accounted for 70.4 per cent of the portfolio investment balance, followed by mining and quarrying at 10.1 per cent, and manufacturing which accounted for 5.8 per cent.

Non-resident cash and deposit investments comprised 66.2 per cent of the “other” investments category, and private sector loans from abroad totalled 18.5 per cent of this group.

The survey results also showed that the outward FDI flows of the responding firms reached a value of JD4.5 billion, concentrated in the finance and insurance sector, with Saudi Arabia receiving about one-fifth of these investments.

Under the CBJ Act No. 23 of 1971 and its amendments, and the DoS Act No. 12 of 2012, all enterprises' information and data is handled confidentially for statistical purposes while the results are aggregated.