Nayrouz News Agency :  A JD275-million capital and investment fund was launched Tuesday as the largest investment vehicle owned by the private sector in the Kingdom. The Jordan Capital and Investment Fund, fully-owned by local banks, is also the largest in terms of incorporation capital.

The fund, which was launched under the aegis of Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, is designed to inject fresh investments and capital in promising Jordanian companies that have prospects for growth, development and expansion, according to Chairman of the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) Hani Qadi.

Qadi explained that the Fund will have two investment arms; the first is the "Jordan Capital and Investment Fund Company" in which commercial banks invest and the second is the "Jordan Islamic Capital and Investment Fund Company" in which Sharia-compliant banks invest.

The stakeholders in the Jordan Capital and Investment Fund Company include the Arab Bank, the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, the Jordan Kuwait Bank, Bank Al Etihad, Jordan Ahli Bank, Bank of Jordan, Cairo Amman Bank, Arab Jordan Investment Bank, Capital Bank , Jordan Commercial Bank, Societe Generale De Banque Jordan - SGBJ, Bank ABC/ Jordan, Invest Bank, and the Egyptian Arab Land Bank.

In turn, the Jordan Islamic Bank, Islamic International Arab Bank and Safwa Bank are the stakeholders in the Jordan Islamic Capital and Investment Fund Company, according to Qadi.

He indicated that both companies will establish an investment management company called "the Jordan Capital and Investment Fund Management Company" which, according to Qadi, will operate under the highest standards of professionalism, independence and governance.

The ABJ chairman emphasized that investment decisions will be based on a scientific basis and will be guided by feasibility studies in addition to an objective appraisal of the scalability and expansion prospects of the potential ventures.

He pointed out that the sectors targeted by the investment company include vital and promising areas, notably food security, health security, chemical industries, ICT, and digital entrepreneurship.

According to Qadi, the rationale for the introduction of this company is driven by the need to stimulate local investment and to empower local companies to capitalize on post-Covid opportunities in areas of food manufacturing, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and ICT among other promising sectors.

In addition to providing a funding window, Qadi said the company will support local enterprises with expertise and seasoned talents and will help open up new markets for them.

He also stressed that the company will strive to diversify its investment portfolio to cover the largest possible number of sectors with a real competitive advantage by setting ceilings for the volume of investment in each sector.

As for the geographical reach, Qadi emphasized that the company will target all regions of the Kingdom and that the focus will be placed on the potential investment itself, which will have a significant impact on supporting sustainable development efforts across the country.

During the virtual launch of the Fund, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh thanked local banks for their support of the nation's development drive and their initiative to launch this "much-needed" fund at the national level, especially in light of the ramifications of the pandemic.

Khasawneh underlined the directives enshrined in the Royal Letter of Designation to focus on economic recovery in the next stage, stressing that his government will continue economic and financial structural reforms with a view to support the business environment, raise the Kingdom's competitiveness regionally and globally, and activate the partnership with the private sector to enhance economic development.

The premier emphasized the government's firm approach to take the necessary decisions to remove obstacles to national and foreign investment and continue attracting foreign capital by improving the business-doing environment in the Kingdom.

Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Zyad Fariz praised the participatory relationship between the CBJ and local banks, which helped in ensuring continuous coordination during the coronavirus crisis.

He said that local banks "were highly responsive and responsible, which enabled the nation to pass the most difficult chapter of the crisis with minimal damage to various sectors and to the national economy as a whole."

He spoke about measures undertaken by the central bank to maintain monetary stability, noting that foreign reserves exceeded $15.9 billion at the end of 2020, which is sufficient to pay for the Kingdom's imports of goods and services for more than 9 months, while inflation remained in the 0.3 percent vicinity.