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Ammon News - The Lower House on Monday endorsed the formation of a ministerial Investment Council, which will be headed by the prime minister.

In a session to discuss the investment regulation bill for the year 2022, which was chaired by Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi and attended by Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh and cabinet members, the lawmakers voted on a number of articles of the draft law as passed by the parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee.

Under the draft law, the Investment Council undertakes a number of tasks, mainly approving the investment policy that includes priority target sectors and projects in line with the state's general policy, economic vision, and economic and social executive plans and programs, approving the Kingdom's investment map and following up on its updating, and discussing and providing guidance on reports on the implementation of investment plans, strategies and programs.

The draft law's articles include freedom of ownership, excluding economic activities restricted under a certain system, the recruitment of non-Jordanians in administrative and technical jobs that require specialized skills at a rate of no more than 25 percent of the workforce, and can be raised to no more than 40 percent when Jordanian labor in these jobs is unavailable, plus other articles related to money transfers.

It stipulates that the ownership of any investment or part of it may not be expropriated, except in accordance with the law and for a general, specific and legitimate purpose and in a non-developmental manner in exchange for paying fair compensation to the investor, taking into account that the payment is in Jordanian dinars or a convertible currency, and that it is equal to the fair market value of the assets concerned before a decision on expropriation is taken, and that the interest rate includes the equivalent of one-night guaranteed financing.

The Investment Council also groups the Minister of Investment as vice president, and as members the ministers of Planning and International Cooperation, Finance, Industry and Trade, Supply, Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce.

It also comprises the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, four private sector representatives, including a businesswoman and three representatives from the agricultural, tourism and financial services sectors.