Jordan- 'Plans in place to attract further Gulf investments' 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Jordan will be stepping up efforts to target investors from Gulf countries, while officials are negotiating with Chinese firms plans to invest 200 million in the country, Jordan Investment Board (JIB) acting CEO Awni Rushoud said Wednesday.

Rushoud told The Jordan Times over the phone that the government agency is set to launch a promotion campaign in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries within the coming two months.

"We are seeing increasing interest in the country from investors in the GCC states as well as from businesspeople across the world," he noted.

Investors are aware that Jordan is a stable country in a turbulent region, a fact he said has been central in bringing more positive attention to the Kingdom.

Business environment, incentives and transparency also play their part in attracting investors to Jordan, he added.

Rushoud indicated that Arab and foreign investors are mainly eyeing investment opportunities in the energy, industrial and hospitality sectors.

The JIB head pointed out that the board will also launch a campaign to attract investors from the US and Canada, adding that the tour to North America is scheduled to start before the end of this year.

Indicators show there will be promising results in terms of investment volumes, according to Rushoud, who said in previous remarks that Jordan is set to "easily" exceed its 2 billion investment inflow target for 2012.

He mentioned that the JIB is currently in negotiations with investors from China to carry out capital projects worth over 200 million in the fields of renewable energy, solar power and railways.

The board is providing the Chinese businesspeople with feasibility studies about the projects, he said.

Rushoud indicated that he has recently concluded a visit to China to promote investment opportunities in the Kingdom and to take part in international trade conferences, saying that many Chinese companies expressed interest to invest in Jordan, which they consider a gateway to regional countries.

"We held talks with representatives of around 150 firms and briefed them on promising energy and infrastructure sectors in the country," he added.

Chinese firms, the JIB head said, are interested in implementing mega-projects in the sectors of minerals, phosphate, railways, energy and medical tourism as well as information technology.