Gulf based investors set up shop in Jordan

But if further proof were still needed of the strengthening affiliation then the news that a group of Kuwaiti investors are seeking approval from the Jordanian government to establish a multi billion dollar health care development in the kingdom surely provides it.

Jordanian-Saudi get-together

The first ever business forum to focus on building up business and trade relations between the private sectors of Jordan and Saudi Arabia took place last week in Amman. The event was organised by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two kingdoms and around 50 Saudi business figures made the journey, according to the Petra news agency.

Despite the fact Saudi Arabia is already responsible for almost a third of all investment in Jordan, the forum placed much emphasis on breaking down all existing barriers to furthering bilateral trade and the head of the Saudi delegation, Abdul Rahman Ben Rashid Al Rashid, said investment levels between the two neighbours were still below desired levels.

The simultaneous launch of the Jordanian-Saudi Projects Development Company was, therefore, another step in the right direction. The new $700 million venture, which has been set up by the Saudi-Jordanian Business Council, will control a number of investment funds spread across various sectors in Jordan.

Close to Kuwait

But this Jordanian-Saudi tie-up follows on the heels of an announcement back in February by Kuwait's Global Investment House that it is intending to establish a firm called First Jordan Investment. Talal Samhouri, the Head of Regional Asset Management at Global, told the Reuters news agency the company would start operating later this year once it receives clearance from Jordan's Securities Commission. First Jordan will have an initial capital of $212 million and will also look to be listed on the Amman Stock Exchange.

Global already has a wide range of investments in the kingdom, totalling some $500 million, mostly in infrastructure projects and private equity. It has also bought into some locally based outfits including the Real Estate Development Company, in which it has taken a majority 60 per cent holding and boosted the firm's capital to beyond $70 million.

Mega medical city project

The enthusiasm that Gulf based investors seem to have right now for pumping their money into Jordan has been seen again this very week with the announcement of a possible new mixed use development near Amman. A group of Kuwaiti investors are seeking government approval for a medical city which could cost as much as $5 billion.

The development will offer the latest in medical technology as well as hotels, entertainment centres and other recreational facilities, according to the Petra news agency. If the project gets the go-ahead it should open in 2012 and it will offer specialist services such as organ transplantation and stem cell research. The Kuwaiti investment group behind the scheme has made a partnership offer to Jordan's Social Security Cooperation.

At yet another event aimed at generating more bilateral trade with the Gulf which took place in Amman last week, the Gulf in Jordan Business Forum and Exhibition, Maen Nsour, the CEO of the Jordan Investment Board, said investment in the kingdom in the first quarter of the year was three times higher than it was over the same period last year, with Kuwait and, secondly, Saudi Arabia, leading the way with regard to foreign investment. It would appear that with the establishment of major new investment firms and a steady stream of mega real estate projects, Jordan's profitable association with the Gulf looks like getting even closer and even more lucrative.