AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday agreed to expand the number of productive commercial
sectors in which investors are eligible to get Jordanian citizenship, according
to Al-Mamlaka TV. Jordanian investors interviewed by
Jordan News were
split on whether the development was positive.
اضافة اعلان
Under the new decision, various sectors including
the pharmaceutical sector, automotive sector, food logistics sector, transport
sector, and others were added to localize investment and attract investors to
Jordan.
The sectors were given guidelines stipulating
employment requirements for Jordanians, investment volume, and assets.
Secretary of the Jordanian Investors Association
Dawoud Al-Qasrawi said that the decision will reflect positively on Jordan and
make the investment market more competitive, especially in light of the
Kingdom’s security and stability, which is a key element that attracts
investors.
Bassam Hamad, a Jordanian investor and former head of
the association, said that “the decision is belated, as it did not catch up
with the influx of investors from Iraq or Syria who faced residency issues, which impeded their
business.”
Moreover, he said that attracting non-Jordanian
investors has become difficult as the market is currently not attractive due to
the high prices of property, electricity, and the high taxes and license
fees.
“Granting citizenship represents a minor obstacle
out of many that they may face,” he said.
Mraweh Assaf, another association member, said that
the decision will not have any economic or investment benefits, “since there
are other obstacles that investors face,” listing the high price of energy
among other costly requirements.
Jordanian investor Mohammad Abu Rasaa said the
government’s decision is unfair to Jordanian investors, disagreeing that
Jordanian and foreign investors should be treated equally, and saying that such
a move would limit local investors’ chances to compete.
Furthermore, Abu Rasaa said that the investment
sector in Jordan needs more than citizenship incentives as “it currently
grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine
conflict, coupled with other existing economic hardships.”
Hamad, however disagreed with Abu Rasaa’s
perspective, saying that the decision will not affect Jordanian investors — the
move would simply give foreigners residency and freedom of movement in
Jordan.
Hamad also believes that having foreign investors in the
market would create a positive competitive environment.
Read more National news
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
