Jordan a promising destination for investors despite regional unrest — panellists

DEAD SEA — Major investors in Jordan and experts on Friday described the Kingdom as a promising investment hub despite turmoil in the region. 

During a plenary session at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa — titled “Jordan Relaunched: Advancing Growth and Development” the investors highlighted the Kingdom’s stability, political leadership, business environment and human resources as the key prosperous investments that could generate higher growth rates. 

Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania, HRH Crown Prince Hussein, regional and international political leaders and hundreds of business leaders and investors attended the session. Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of the United Arab Emirates-based Emaar Properties, which is building major residential and mixed-used facilities in Jordan, said the Kingdom’s stable political scene, its leadership and focused plan for economic growth make it attractive for investors. 

The story of Jordan is the story of growth regardless of regional instability, he added, describing the company’s projects in Jordan and the financial returns as positive. 

Suma Chakrabarti, president of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said Jordan has to work on closing the gap between the potential it has to attract international investors and the current situation due to regional chaos. 

Chakrabarti cited three sectors Jordan needs to work on to stimulate economic growth. 

In energy, Jordan has a competitive edge through solar power, but should utilise it more. The small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector is also an important sector that is still untapped due to conservative policies by local banks that enjoy high liquidity levels, he added. 

He listed technology as the third crucial sector due to innovation. 

During the session, Steven Boutelle, vice-president at Cisco Consulting Services, said the company has been in Jordan since 1999 as it believes in education and entrepreneurship. 

Noting that Cisco is committed to investing more in Jordan, he described human resources as the Kingdom’s treasure. 

Boutelle said Jordan has a long-term vision to invest in young people. 

Former minister and Royal Court chief Bassem Awadallah also stressed the need to support SMEs and innovation in Jordan by easing financing. 

Awadallah said Jordan has proved resilient in the face of regional and international shocks over the past decades, calling for more public-private partnerships to boost economic performance. 

Another panellist, Bahaa Eldin Hariri, owner of Horizon Group which is constructing the multi-billion Abdali Development Project in Amman, said the potential for Jordan is still to come when stability is restored in Iraq and Syria.  

“Jordan has to be ready for post-instability in Iraq and Syria,” he noted, adding that economic growth rates can go back to pre-2008 global financial crisis figures when the average rate was around 7 per cent. 

Li Ming, CEO of Hanergy Global Solar Power Group for Europe and the Middle East, said Jordan is not only a market of its own but also a destination for large international markets due to the free trade agreements it has signed with the US and several countries. 

Ming said the company sees renewable energy in Jordan as an attractive opportunity, also citing its location and people as key strengths.

It is time to start investing in the renewable energy field, he added. 

“It is not a problem for Jordan anymore that it does not have oil under the ground; renewable energy is the future,” he said, and clean energy can reshape the economy of the Kingdom.