Authorities amending regulations to further protect investors — official

AMMAN — Authorities are currently amending regulations to grant investors further legislative protection to enhance Jordan's competitiveness, an official said Thursday.

Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) President Montaser Oqlah said the article on legal protection of investors in the current Investment Law is "below expectations" when it comes to international arbitration.

"The current wording of the article does not give the investor enough assurances regarding international arbitration tools, which becomes an option only after the case is referred to local courts," he told The Jordan Times.

Therefore, the commission is studying amendments that will "make investors feel more secure", including specific arbitration tools and allowing international arbitration without local arbitration being a prerequisite.

Out of the six investment-related lawsuits that have been filed, some have been ruled on, such as the “Housing Bank Stakes” case, while others are still undecided and are "of minimal effect on Jordan's investment environment".

The recently launched World Economic Forum 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Index ranked Jordan 121 out of 140 when it comes to the strength of investor protection measures.

Commenting on the ranking, Oqlah said the report did not consider the 2014 Investment Law, which created the investment window, a one-stop-shop to handle paperwork for investment projects in order to cut down bureaucracy.  

However, he expected the intended amendments to boost Jordan's ranking in the index.

For his side, Economist Maen Ensour encouraged further legislative protection of investors, especially in local arbitration, which "needs to be faster".