Telecom, ICT revenues touched $2.2 billion in 2018 — Int@j

AMMAN — The revenues of the telecommunications and information technology sectors by the end of 2018 reached $2.2 billion, marking a 4.5 per cent growth rate for the two sectors combined, the ICT Association of Jordan (Int@j) announced on Tuesday.

According to an Int@j survey, $1.42 billion of revenue was attributed to the telecommunications sector, with a growth rate of 1.5 per cent, and $750 million in revenue to the IT sector, that grew by 10.7 per cent, attributing this increase to tax incentives endorsed in 2016.

The survey was based on data Int@j collected from ICT companies in the Kingdom, and showed that Jordan is still a strategic destination for ICT sectors in the region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

A total of 17,698 employees worked for the ICT sectors in 2018, without any change in the number when compared to 2017, Int@j said, noting that the sector witnessed “strong” female participation, as opportunities for women increased by 3 per cent. Males occupy 67 per cent of the total jobs in the sector.

As for exports, the IT sector’s exports in 2018 totalled $262 million, where the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Iraq amounted to 60.5 per cent of the sector’s exports, while local revenues stood at $487 million, which means that 65 per cent of the revenues were generated from the local economy, according to Petra. 

The association said that despite the 19 per cent increase in local IT revenue in 2018, the sector’s growth rate in revenue went down by 2.2 per cent.  

The investment volume in the telecommunications sector went down in 2018 by 9.5 per cent to $192 million, Petra reported.