Economic priority must be raising growth rates, Razzaz says

AMMAN — Priorities for the economic sector in the next phase must focus on achieving a growth rate of 4 to 5 per cent and increasing investments in the country by no less than 10 per cent, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the closing session of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) conference, organised by the Economic and Social Council and the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Razzaz added that priorities also include increasing the percentage of SMEs out of the total number companies, and enhancing employment rates.

The premier said that the government is aware of challenges facing SMEs in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He noted that the government, in cooperation with the private sector, is working to establish the Jordan Export House as a company that can help Jordanian firms, especially SMEs, to export their products, noting that the company is expected to be launched in 2019. 

Small enterprises still depend on funding from banks that have their own reservations, terms and conditions, Razzaz said, calling on these enterprises to receive financing from funds such as the Innovative Start-ups and SMEs Fund, which has a capital of $98 million. 

Raising the Kingdom’s growth rates by 4 to 5 per cent in the medium term is not impossible, Razzaz said, indicating that the country’s economy was able to achieve an 8 per cent rate in the past, but the growth at the time was not optimal and did not contribute to “a successful economic model”. 

The prime minister also referred to several international economic developments that serve the Kingdom’s interests, including the fact that entrepreneurship and creativity have become the main source of growth.

In this regard, he said that some 80 to 85 per cent of the world’s wealth was a result of petitions and new production ideas, stressing that this is in Jordan’s interest, as the country is known for its human resources.

JCI Director General Maher Mahrouq said that SMEs constitute 99 per cent of the facilities working in the Kingdom and employ more than 70 per cent of the workforce in the sector.