Business climate improvement may land Jordan in IMF lap again

AMMAN — Business climate improvement is so crucial now, that Jordan may soon seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a senior official said.

Finance Minister Umayyah Toukan told a media gathering on Monday that regional chaos provides Jordan with an exceptional chance to be a magnet for Mideast investments.

But he said that improving the business climate is of utmost importance to attract investors because they look for markets where discipline prevails and bureaucracy is at its lowest level.

"With the IMF experience in improving the business climate in other countries, the government is weighing whether to arrange for a $1.5 billion, three-year programme with the global lender to undertake such a task," he indicated.

Toukan said that without grants and financial support from Gulf Arab countries, the Kingdom would not have been able to implement a number of projects.

He remarked that grants in general have shrunk.

Toukan told journalists that the government recently injected around JD200 million into the economy, JD50 million of which was in tax refunds and the remaining amount were cash compensations for property expropriations.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour repeated the same remarks as he lent patronage to Jordanian Businessmen Association’s celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The prime minister said the government took several decisions and measures to support economic growth, including reducing electricity tariffs on tourist facilities by around JD30 million annually. He also said the government increased allocations for tourist promotions by JD37 million and offered additional exemptions to the real estate and housing sectors.