Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Jordanian market fell by 52.6 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) reported yesterday.

According to CBJ, the net FDI to Jordan reached 679.8 million Jordanian dinars ($958.5 million) in 2018 compared with 1.436 billion Jordanian dinars ($2.024 billion) in 2017.

FDI, tourism, trade balance and expat remittances are major components in the kingdom’s balance of payments.

FDI into Jordan achieved its highest value in 2008, reaching two billion Jordanian dinars ($2.8 billion), but later declined as a result of the global financial crisis.

During the first half of 2018, the Jordanian government proposed a package of measures to cover the budget deficit including increasing the income tax and energy prices. The proposal was met with protests across the country which eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulqi in June that year.

Jordan has come under pressure, in recent months, to accept a US peace agreement dubbed the “deal of the century” which America says will bring to an end the Palestine-Israel conflict. Initial reports of the deal claim it includes eradicating the refugee status of Palestinians living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and making them citizens of their host nations, a step rejected by the Jordanian monarchy.

*MEM