AMMAN — Jordan Capital and Investment Fund (JCIF), founded in 2021 as the largest Jordanian investment fund with a total capital of JD275 million, has completed its establishment phase, the bank said in a press statement.

It said the process included finalizing investment policies and strategies, onboarding the investment committee, and appointing a CEO and a specialized executive team, “thereby officially announcing the commencement of its operations and investment phase, with investments in Jordanian companies set to begin in 2023”.

Minister of Investment Kholoud Saqqaf and Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan Adel Sharkas inaugurated the new offices of JCIF, which is wholly owned by Jordanian banks, and “aims to support the Jordanian economy by focusing on productive sectors to generate job opportunities, increase exports and prompt development across governorates”, according to the statement.

“JCIF will also prioritize the diversification of its investment portfolio to cover the largest possible number of sectors spanning multiple areas with real competitive advantages, such as food and health security, chemical industries, and information and communications technology (ICT), while allocating the investment amount for each,” it said.

“The Government of Jordan, through the Ministry of Investment, extends its full support for establishing investment funds, given their contributions to stimulating and attracting the capital of investment institutions in order to finance various priority economic sectors with significant competitive advantages, Saqqaf said.

“In doing so, they help achieve many economic and development goals that directly impact economic growth and efforts to combat poverty and unemployment,” she added.

She pointed out that the new Investment Environment Law for 2022 “not only authorized the creation of investment funds to allocate resources for economic activities, it also enabled them to acquire legal personality upon their establishment and registration at the Ministry of Investment, which serves as the main reference point for investments in Jordan”.

Sharkas, the CBJ governor, said the creation of JCIF “reflects the Jordanian banking industry’s firm commitment to supporting the local economy and advancing development on various levels, as well as the responsibility banks bear every time the national economy is exposed to unexpected challenges, and fluctuations, most recent of which were the great efforts to mitigate the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic on companies and individuals.”

He said that the banking indicators for the first three quarters of 2022 “showed solid performance”, with total credit facilities growing by 7.7 percent, against 4.4 percent during the same period last year.

The CBJ governor noted that deposits nudged up by 5.8 percent, against 4.5 percent during the same period last year. He maintained that this demonstrated the “major role of banks in financing economic activity, and mobilizing savings”.

Sharkas said the investments injected by JCIF will help “boost the size and quality of investments in the Kingdom, and give rise to robust Jordanian companies that can capitalize on long-term investment opportunities - thereby enhancing economic activity, creating job opportunities and bringing about holistic and sustainable economic development, ultimately achieving the Economic Modernization Vision goals for the upcoming decade”.

Jordan Capital and Investment Fund Management Company Chairman Hani Qadi said that JCIF is “considered a key enabler to realizing the strategic objectives of Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision” launched earlier this year.

“Its founding reaffirms the Government of Jordan’s steadfastness in promoting investment in the Kingdom, especially under the newly enacted Investment Environment Law,” he said. “I sincerely thank the Government of Jordan and Central Bank of Jordan for their unwavering support in establishing JCIF and backing its mandate in stimulating national economic development.”

“To ensure JCIF’s objectives are best achieved, the Board of Directors has appointed an investment committee comprising Omar Agha, Anis Bibi, and Adi Salamin, each leveraging extensive expertise, and in-depth knowledge relevant to this field,” Qadi noted.