Gov’t signs draft deal for $100m soft loan with Kuwait fund

AMMAN — The Planning Ministry and the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) recently initialled a draft agreement for a $100 million soft loan to support emerging business projects, Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif said on Monday.

The draft agreement entails funding micro- as well as small- and medium-sized projects, with the Central Bank of Jordan re-lending the amount to commercial banks and micro-financing institutions, Saif noted on the sidelines of a meeting with reporters.

“We are currently negotiating another $50 million soft loan for the same purposes with the possibility of providing financial support to some Jordanian institutions working in the sector,” Saif added.

He noted that Jordan received a similar $70 million soft loan from the World Bank which underwent the same procedures that are going to be implemented with the AFESD agreement.

“The entire amount was re-lent to commercial banks working in the sector under competitive financial conditions,” Saif said, describing the procedure as “successful” as it benefited owners of small businesses.

“We are also negotiating another $50 million soft loan with the World Bank,” the minister added.