‘Commission working to decentralise power, facilitate procedures for investors’

AMMAN — The Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) on Thursday announced new measures to be implemented soon to stimulate investments and ease regulations hampering businesses.   

At a meeting with directors of several state-owned firms in development zones and industrial estates, JIC President Montaser Oqlah said the new Investment Law has granted “unprecedented” authority to the commission to enable it to enhance investments and provide distinguished services to investors. 

The recently passed law designates the JIC as the unified investment window, a one-stop-shop in charge of all investment issues, starting April 2015.

As a result, the JIC has signed a number of agreements with development companies, giving them further jurisdiction and duties, in a step to decentralise power and facilitate procedures for investors, Oqlah said.

“However, the JIC retains its regulatory role,” he noted, expecting more agreements with additional development companies in the near future.

Oqlah called for partnership between the commission and the development zones in framing participatory policies and work plans that result in increasing the efficiency of services provided to investors and attracting more investments.

Meanwhile, officials of development companies said delegating some authority is a step in the right direction. 

The new Investment Law will create a “quantum leap” in the added value to the national economy and create job opportunities for Jordanians, noted Nasser Shraideh, chairman of the Jordanian Free Zones Corporation’s board of directors.

He highlighted the significance of providing services to investors at their projects’ locations in development or free zones, expecting such a move to lead to new industrial, commercial and service investment ventures.

Moreover, the creation of a unified investment window will achieve stability in legislation governing investments and limit investors’ problems in having to deal with several references for issuing the required approvals and permits, said Atef Odeibat, CEO of the Maan Development Company.

The former labour minister highlighted the need to facilitate issuing work permits for guest workers, noting that some investors have “great” difficulty in hiring foreigners even within the percentage allowed by law.

Representing the King Hussein Business Park, Rami Qsous called for supporting emerging start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises and exempting them from tariffs until they are able to generate decent revenues.

The JIC and representatives of development companies agreed to meet once a month to follow up on investment issues and means to improve services for investors.