The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC), the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), and the Securities Depository Center (SDC), in cooperation with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) held, for the second year, the Jordan Capital Markets Day at LSE, March 27 - 28 March 2008, with the participation of 10 major Jordanian companies representing financial and industrial institutions and the Executive Privatization Commission, The conference was attended by 80 investment managers representing the largest investment companies and funds in Britain that invest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Jordanian delegation met officials from Bank of New York Mellon, London office. Michael Cole-Fontayn, the BNYM representative welcomed the Jordanian delegation and expressed pleasure of welcoming the Jordan Capital Market institutions and the Jordanian companies to the bank offices in London and expressed the bank interest in furthering the cooperation between the BNYM and the Jordan Capital Market. He pointed out the importance of holding such meetings, which provide opportunities for Jordanian companies and British investors to meet and explore joint investment opportunities. He also indicated that British investors are becoming more interested in investing in emerging markets, especially in the Middle East. As part of the road show, t he BNYM presented a number of important technical issues of interest to Jordanian companies related to Capital Raising Using Global Depository Receipts, Financial reporting pre and post IPO, Valuing Companies before an IPO and Communicating with the investment community.
The administration of LSE honored the Jordanian delegation and invited Dr. Bassam Saket, Executive Chairman of the JSC, to open the electronic trading day on March 28, 2008 in the presence of the chairmen of the boards and executive directors of the ASE and SDC, as well as a number of Capital Market officials and all participants from Jordanian companies.
Dr. Bassam Saket, pointed out the importance of conducting such meetings that offer real opportunities for Jordanian companies to meet and present their investment opportunities to British investors and he indicated that Jordan follows a proactive policy of communicating with the world rather than waiting for others to come to Jordan. In addition, he said that Jordan enjoys a safe investment climate that offers high returns, as well as a free economy that offers investment opportunities to build major partnerships. He outlined in his presentation, the most important developments in the Jordanian market, the JSC duties in enforcing the law and protecting investors and the progress achieved in terms of disclosure and transparency in the market.
Dr. Fayez Tarawneh, Chairman of the United Arab Investors Company, said that Jordan started to implement the economic reform program in 1989 successfully, despite the instability in the region. He also spoke of the progress of the Jordanian economy, the privatization program, and recent economic indicators, mainly the growth levels achieved by the Jordanian economy in the past years. He added that political and economic reform in Jordan is an ongoing process that reinforces its economic and political position in the region and raises its competitiveness in attracting foreign investments in a safe and stable environment.
CEO of the ASE, Jalil Tarif, reviewed investment opportunities in the Jordanian capital market and the latest legislative and technological developments at the ASE. He stressed that the ASE succeeded in attracting more foreign investments, as a result foreign ownership exceeded 50% of the market capitalization. This high ownership, explained Mr. Tarif, is due to the confidence in the market that enjoys complete freedom in the movement of capital and no taxes on capital gains or cash dividends.
CEO of the SDC, Samir Jaradat, spoke of the important work done by the SDC, such as settlement and the transfer of ownership in a safe and documented manner. He pointed out that the SDC adopts international best practice in this area, which enhances confidence in the Jordanian capital market.
Mr. Abdel Rahman Al Khatib, CEO of the Executive Privatization Commission (EPC) reviewed in his presentation the successes of the privatization process, the most recent of which was the privatization of Royal Jordanian Airlines. He also pointed out the future privatization projects on the (EPC) agenda, namely the privatization of the Jordan Post Company, the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, and Khirbet Al Samra water treatment plant.
Representatives of Jordanian companies also gave presentations in which they presented their companies and reviewed their latest projects and future plans, and their effect on the companies' profits. These companies, which represent 50% in volume of the Jordan capital market, include the Arab Bank, the Jordan Ahli Bank, United Arab Investors Co., Tameer Jordan, Middle East Complex for Engineering, Electronics, and Heavy Industries Co, Jordan Investment Trust, First Jordan Investment, Al-Sanabel International for Islamic Financial Investment, Arab International for Education and Investment, and the Arab Potash Company.
It should be noted that some of the investment companies and funds that participated in the event are listed among the 20 largest investment companies in the world, namely:
Addleshaw Goddard, Blackrock, Blakeney, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deephaven, Deka, Deutsche Bank, EFG-Hermes, Ernest Bateman Photography, Event Force, Fidelity, First Equity, Frankfurt Trust, GLG, Goldman Sachs, Hermitage Fund, Invesco, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan Depositary Bank, Kudu, Lehman, Liberty Square Asset Management, Mango Capital, Mena Capital, Merrill Lynch, Mondrian, Montpelier, Nomura, Och-Ziff, Pantera Capital, Pictet, Polunin, Prince St Capital, Schroders, Societe Generale, T.Rowe Price, The Bank of New York Mellon, White and Case, and Zenith Corporate Finance
For more information on the conference please visit the electronic site of the London Stock Exchange, which published all the working papers presented by Jordanian participants.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/products/irs/capitaldays/Jordan