Jordan’s exports to the US during 2008 dropped by 14.8 per cent,

 

ASE Summary

Investments registered at Companies Control Department dropped by 16.5%

AMMAN (Petra) - Investments registered at the Companies Control Department dropped by 16.5 per cent during the past 11 months of this year to JD712 million compared to around JD854 million during the same period last year. Emirati investments topped the list accounting for JD41 million, according to a press release issued Monday by the Companies’ Comptroller Sabr Rawashdeh. Iraqi investments ranked second with JD33 million followed by Egypt’s at JD10 million. The press statement revealed that agricultural companies recorded the highest growth rate; a total of 64 per cent, among other companies. The number of registered private shareholding companies increased by 21 per cent compared to the same period, last year. During the January-November period of this year, a total of 1,117 companies were written off and liquidated. The capital of those companies amounted to around JD30 million, the press statement indicated. The department’s revenues totalled around JD12.2 million.

Eid Al Adha Holiday
On the occasion of Eid Al Adha, there will be no trading at the Amman Stock Exchange from Sunday 7 December to Thursday 11 December 2008. Trading will be resumed on Sunday 14 December, 2008.

Irbid exports drop by 6.1%
The cumulative exports of industrial companies registered at the Irbid Chamber of Industry posted a 6.1 per cent drop during the past eleven months of this year compared to those of the same period last year, according to the chamber’s recently issued report on companies’ industrial exports.


Non-Jordanian Investments at the ASE - November 2008
The total value of shares that were bought by non-Jordanian investors since the beginning of the year 2008 until November 2008 was JD4097.4 million, representing 20.7% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted JD3826.4 million. As a result, the net of non-Jordanian investment until November 2008 showed an increase by JD271.0 million, compared to an increase by JD469.0 million in the same period of the year 2007.
Arab investors purchases during 2008 were JD3140.4 million, or 76.6% of the overall purchases by non-Jordanians, while the value of non-Arab purchases amounted JD957 million, constituting 23.4% of the total purchases. Arab investors sales amounted JD2963.1 million, 77.4% of non-Jordanians total sales, while the value of non-Arab sales amounted JD863.3 million, representing 22.6% of the total sales by non-Jordanians.
The total value of shares bought by non-Jordanian investors during November 2008 was JD184.4 million, representing 21.4% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted JD256 million. Thus, the net of non-Jordanian investment during November 2008 showed a decrease by JD71.7 million.
Non-Jordanian ownership in companies listed at the ASE by end of November 2008 represented 49.4% of the total market value, 35.2% for Arab investors and 14.2% for non-Arab investors. At the sector level, the non-Jordanian ownership in the financial sector was 51.6%, in the services sector was 35.4%, and in the industrial sector was 52.2%.

Rumours push Amman bourse up
Rumours in Amman bourse about the government signing a deal with a strategic partner for the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company pushed the share price index Sunday up by about 2.5 per cent, analysts and brokers said.
Following a nine-day holiday, the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) share price index closed Sunday at 2,863 point, an increase of 2.45 per cent. Shares of 173 companies were traded, of which shares prices of 116 companies rose and those of 37 declined and analysts and brokers said there was a “fairly high” demand on most of the blue chips.
“The market rose today [Sunday] as there were strong rumours in the market that the government has already signed a deal with the strategic partner for the refinery,” Jawad Kharouf, president of the Association of Certified Capital Market Professionals said Sunday.
According to the ASE website, there was a total of 748,151 demand on shares of the refinery on the limit up (or the maximum allowed percentage for higher trading prices.)
A broker at Al Amal Company for Investments said news about the strategic partner helped push other blue chips such as the Arab Bank, the Jordan Steel Company, the potash and the phosphate company up.
“I placed an order to buy some shares in the refinery after hearing the news in the market, I thought I would make up for some of the losses in other shares if I buy some stocks in the refinery, but I could not buy,” Elyass Manneh, an investor at the ASE said Sunday.
“I hope this rumour will be true, because if it is not, shares will just go down again,” Manneh added.
Brokers also predicted an upward trend during the second half of December as most of the companies whose shares are listed on the ASE will try to close their annual results with positive results.
“Companies are so keen to announce a positive performance for the year 2008 at least with no losses, so there will be an extensive buying of shares of blue chips,” Kharouf said.
The results to be announced in January are very important for the companies because they will affect their performance in 2009 so they are keen on announcing positive financial results, the analyst noted.








Jordanian-Bahraini trade volume totals BD22m in 2007
Bahraini investments in the Kingdom currently stand at $2.2 billion, of which $1.5 billion are investments by the Gulf Finance House (GFH), Bahraini Ambassador in Amman Nasser Kaabi said Monday. In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on the occasion of Bahrain’s national day that falls today, the ambassador said trade volume between the two countries stood at 22 million Bahraini dinars last year, stressing that two countries’ keenness to boost the trading volume. The diplomat said therapeutic and entertainment tourism and the Jordanian universities enjoy a high reputation among the Bahraini community, adding that there are about 800 Bahraini students in the country’s public universities.


Real estate trading volume increases by 10%
Real estate trading volume posted during the first eleven months of this year totalled JD5.747 billion compared to JD5.21 billion during the same period last year, according to a statement by the Land and Survey Department. The increase resulted from a rise in the number of sold apartments, the statement indicated. The department’s revenues up to the end of last month totalled JD359.6 million compared to JD326 million during the same period last year, an increase by 10 per cent, the statement said.

Tuesday 30/12/2008 is the last trading session in the year 2008
By virtue to article (24) of Trading Directives; the trading session of Tuesday 30/12/2008 will be the last trading session for the year 2008. Trading in the year 2009 will start on Sunday 4/1/2009.ASE News

GDP rises 6.5% in 3rd quarter
Gross domestic product (GDP) at fixed market prices rose during the third quarter of this year by 6.5 per cent to JD2,347.6 million compared to JD2,204.1 million during the same period last year. The overall cumulative GDP at fixed prices at the end of the third quarter reached a total of JD6,664.2 million compared to JD6,278.8 million for the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance figures. The ministry estimated the GDP at current prices for this year to reach JD12,863 million. Most economic activities contributed to the GDP at different rates. The manufacturing industry and the sectors of finance and insurance contributed to the GDP by 18.1 per cent each. Transport, storage and communication followed at 14.4 per cent while the government services producing sector contributed 12.1 per cent.  Wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants and taxes accounted for 12 per cent each.  During the first quarter of this year, the GDP grew by 5.2 per cent while it rose by 6.7 per cent during the second quarter of this year.








AMMAN (JT) - Net investment of non-Jordanians at the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) amounted to JD309.8 million at the end of 2008, less than the JD466.2 million achieved in 2007.According to an ASE press release, the total value of shares purchased by non-Jordanian investors during 2008 reached JD4, 219.8 million, representing 20.8 per cent of the overall trading value. The value of shares sold by the same bracket amounted to JD3,910 million, the press release indicated. Purchases of Arab investors during 2008 totaled JD3,233.4 million, or 76.6 per cent of the overall purchases by non-Jordanians. The value of shares bought by non-Arabs amounted to JD986.4 million, constituting 23.4 per cent of the total purchases, the press release said. Arab investors’ sales amounted to JD3, 030.1 million, or 77.5 per cent of total sales by non-Jordanians, while the value of sales by non-Arabs amounted to JD879.9 million, representing 22.5 per cent of the total sales by non-Jordanians. The total value of shares bought by non-Jordanian investors during December 2008 was JD122.5 million, representing 24.6 per cent of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted to JD83.6 million. Thus, the net of non-Jordanian investment during December 2008 showed an increase by JD38.9 million. On-Jordanian ownership in companies listed at the ASE by the end of December 2008 represented 49.2 per cent of the total market value, 35.9 per cent for Arab investors and 13.3 per cent for non-Arab investors. At the sector level, non-Jordanian ownership in the financial sector was 52.1 per cent, in the services sector was 33.8 per cent and in the industrial sector was 53.3 per cent.

The Public Institution for Social Security to be carried out purchase of shares in the Arab Bank and Housing Bank for Trade and Finance in the last week of trading last year. The institution said-in disclosure published on the website of the Amman Stock Exchange on the trades that carried out in its shares has more than 5% of its capital, or the institution represented in its Board of management- it bought 01.8 thousands of shares in the Arab Bank,.7,605 thousand shares in the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance.

Brokers and analysts expect share prices at the Amman bourse to fluctuate this month but the trend is likely to be upward as investors await the companies’ 2008 fiscal results.“Investors usually start buying at the start of every year to build new positions in anticipation of financial results that summaries the performance of companies in the previous year,” Jawad Kharouf, president of the Association of Certified Capital Market Professionals, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Tuesday.“Therefore, an upward trend is expected during this month in general,” he indicated, noting that investors are buying shares on the belief that 2009 may bring a solution to the global financial crisis. Hani Halawani, chief executive officer of IFA Financial Services, echoed similar remarks. "Investors are so eager to know the results of the companies, especially during last year’s fourth quarter when most of the firms suffered a blow to their investment portfolios,” Halawani said. "But still, many are buying in selected companies as prices are luring,” he added. “The market is expected to fluctuate mostly with an upward trend.”Nader Shahin, director of Sokouk Company, differed saying: “The market is hard to predict these days."Usually the market rises at the beginning of each year. But any surprise or development in the region affect the market. The Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip for instance would cast its shadow on the bourse,” Shahin said.
Jordanian Central Bank announced yesterday the launch of the first issue of 2009 of the treasury bonds issued by the Government of $ 50 million dinars benefit 8-1-2011 in an auction Today according to the terms of issuance, and to be in the form of bonds in the records book of the central bank and the ownership passed from person to another, according to the law of public debt, and the  bonds to issued in the forms of the category of 1000 dinars and its complications
The bonds are issued in nominal terms and bear a fixed interest rate. The bond's interest rate paid in two equal installments in the year one in 8/1/and7/8, that effects from 8/7/2009 and bonds put up for public auction to banks and savings and investment, retirement and insurance companies and the Public Institution for Social Security to be the auctioneer request to submit by investors from non-banks, or those who do not maintain accounts with the Central Bank accompanied by a delegation of Bank credit the value of the bonds allocated to be auctioned by the bank account mentioned in the Central Bank. Individuals and legal resident and non-residents may buy treasury bonds through the IPO's banks and trade on their behalf. The maximum limit to a possible sale of one per is 50% of the nominal value of the issue. The bonds will be traded in the market and the Central bank includes it in Amman Stock Exchange and also allows trading outside the stock exchange and banks can use theirs for the purpose of repurchase agreements that placed at the Central Bank.

The trading value reached (4.31) million yesterday, and the number of shares traded (8.15) million shares, carried out through (10544) contracts. In terms of sectored contribution volume of the financial sector has occupied first place in (3.61%) of the total volume, followed by the industrial sector by (3.26%) and, finally, the services sector by (4 .12%). As for the price altitudes, the index likely rose equity to the available free stocks to(2817) points from the previous day, with the closure of (2805) points, an increase of (41.0%), while the index of stock prices likely have increased the market value of the closure yesterday by(6401 )points from the previous day, with the closure of (6328)points, an increase of (16.1).

The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) started the New Year on a positive note driven by an increase in the share prices of a number of heavyweight stocks, especially those of Arab Potash Company which rose by 14.7 per cent during last week’s trading sessions. The ASE general index ended last week at 2,802.64 points, up by 1.6 per cent compared to the previous week. We expect the market to fluctuate this week as investors await the release of fourth quarter financial results. Except for a 0.8 per cent decline posted by the services sector, all other indices advanced led by the industrial sector which recorded the highest gain as its index increased by 4.98 per cent. As for the trading activity, 73.2 million shares exchanged hands. Leaving gains at 117 companies and losses at 72 firms out of 199 corporations whose shares were traded. In terms of value traded by sector, real estate came in first place accounting for 35 per cent of the total followed by the industrial sector with 20.4 per cent and then the services sector which accounted for 13.4 per cent of the value traded last week. The most actively traded shares were those of South Electronics Company, Specialized Investments Compounds, and United Arab Investors with a combined value traded of JD34.8 million accounting for 23.8 per cent of the total value traded. Several block deals were executed last week; most significantly were deals on Al Dawliah for Hotels & Malls and Specialized Investments Compounds with transaction values of JD3.1 million and JD0.9 million. The ASE decided on January 4, 2009 to postpone the listing of the new shares of the Industrial Development Bank The general assembly of Al Ameer for Development Projects approved the recommendation of the board of directors to increase the company’s paid-up capital from JD5 million to JD110 million via a private placement to the existing shareholders. Darat Holdings announced the establishment of Al Taawon for Real Estate Management; a wholly owned subsidiary with a paid-up capital of JD10, 000.Model Restaurants Company has completed all necessary procedures for the establishment of The Model Investment Company with a paid-up capital of JD30, 000. An initial revision of actual data related to 2008 budget showed a deficit of approximately JD692 million, or 5 per cent of gross domestic product. According to the Department of Statistics, the price index of agricultural produce increased by 16.6 per cent during the first eleven months of 2008 compared with the same period of 2007.ASE data showed that net non-Jordanian investments during 2008 increased by JD309.8 million, compared to an increase of JD466.2 million in 2007.The total amount of Jordanian remittances reached JD2,299.9 million during the first 10 months of 2008, an increase of JD278.8 million, or 13.8 per cent, over the level recorded in the previous year.The volume of real estate trading in Jordan reached JD5.97 billion during the first 10 months of 2008, an increase of 7 per cent over the same period in 2007.




Monday’s trading value amounted to JD28.9 million spread over 16.9 million shares traded through 10,548 transactions. The share price index closed at 2,780 points, an increase of 0.41 per cent.Out of 170 corporations whose were traded, prices of 87 companies rose, and prices of 56 firms declined.The top five gainers were Al Rakaez Investment by 5 per cent, United Financial Investments by 4.97 per cent, Jordan Company For Electricity and Oil Shale by 4.94 per cent, Enjaz For Development & Multi Projects by 4.88 per cent, and Al Shamekha for Real Estate and Financial Investments by 4.8 per cent.The top five losers were Arab Internationl For Education & Investment by 4.99 per cent, Palaces Real Estate And Development by 4.88 per cent, Jordan Sulpho-chemicals by 4.84 per cent, Zahrat Al Urdon Real Estate and Hotels Investment by 4.82 per cent, and Jordan Investment Trust by 4.67 per cent.






The Central Bank of Jordan announces on behalf of the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan the issuance of the 2nd issue of the Jordanian Treasury bonds for the year 2009 with the following features:
 
Maturity Date: January, 15, 2012.
Amount: 50 million Jordan Dinar.
Issuance Method: Auction.
Auction Date: January, 14, 2009.
Settlement Date: January, 15, 2009.
The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) recently issued a report on the fiscal and economic developments in the Kingdom during 2008. The report said the Kingdom’s economic performance continued to be strong during 2008 despite the different challenges that resulted from the international financial crisis. It indicated that the real gross domestic product grew during the first three quarters of last year by 6.2 per cent compared to a 7 per cent growth during the same period of the previous year. The inflation rate recorded during the January-November period of last year reached 15.4 per cent compared to 5.4 per cent during the same period in the previous year, the report pointed out.






Amman Stock Exchange’s (ASE) general index dropped by 1 per cent closing last week at 2774.6 points. The bourse was affected by lower share prices of most strategic companies due to a wave of profit-taking activities amid relatively high trading volumes. We expect investors to continue building new positions in selected shares based on expectations of fourth quarter results. Except for the real estate and services sectors which rose by 2.57 per cent and 0.11 per cent respectively, all other indices regressed. The industrial sector registered the largest loss as its index declined by 2.82 per cent. As for trading activity, 83.36 million shares exchanged hands leaving gains at 91 companies and losses at 90 firms out of 195 corporations.In terms of value traded by sector, real estate came in first place accounting for 37.9 per cent of the total value traded followed by the services with 18.9 per cent and then the industrial sector which accounted for 15.9 per cent of the value traded last week. The most actively traded shares were those of Al Tajamouat for Catering & Housing, Ad Dulayl Industrial Park, and Methaq for Real Estate Investment with a combined value traded of JD23.42 million accounting for 15.21 per cent of the total value traded.Several block deals were executed last week most significantly were deals on Al Dawliah for Hotels & Malls and Al Faris National Company for Investment & Export with transaction values of JD3.11 million and JD0.95 million respectively.The Amman Stock Exchange announced listing 3.42 million new shares of Al Entkaeya Company in the second market.Al Ekbal for Printing and Packaging announced the establishment of Al Ekbal for Logistical Services and Paper Trading, a wholly owned subsidiary with a paid-up capital of JD30,000.The Industrial Development Bank announced that it will hold an extraordinary general assembly meeting on January 29 to elect a new board of directors which will be delegated to request an Islamic bank license from the Central Bank of Jordan. The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) approved the registration of 110 million new shares in the paid-up capital of ArabCorp and offering them to the company’s shareholders through a public offering. The JSC approved the registration of five million new shares in the capital of Al Faris Company and offering them to the company’s shareholders through a public offering. According to data issued by the Department of Statistics, the general industrial price index increased by 56.3 per cent during the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the same period of 2007 and the general industrial production index rose by 1.8 per cent during the same period of last year. Another DoS data showed that the consumer price average declined by 2.3 per cent during December of 2008 as compared with the previous month. The total increase in the consumer price average during 2008 reached 14.9 per cent compared to 2007.National exports surged by 27 per cent or JD514.8 million to JD2.40 billion at the end of 2008 compared to JD1.89 million in 2007.
The crude oil bill rose by 45 per cent during the January-November period of 2008, reaching JD1,863 million compared to JD1,281 million during the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics. In November alone, the bill went down by 61 per cent due to a drop in oil prices on the international level as prices went down to JD73 compared to JD189 during the same month in 2007. During the January-November period of last year, the diesel rose by 9.4 per cent to JD209 million compared to JD109 million during the same period last year. Saudi Arabia and Iraq represent Jordan’s two main sources of crude oil.





























The total value of shares that were bought by non-Jordanian investors during January 2009 was JD163.1 million, representing 27.2% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted JD158.1 million. As a result, the net of non-Jordanian investment during January 2009 showed an increase by JD5.0 million, compared to an increase by JD16.4 million during January 2008. Arab investors purchases January during 2009 were JD146.3 million, or 89.7% of the overall purchases by non-Jordanians, while the value of non-Arab purchases amounted JD16.8 million, constituting 10.3% of the total purchases. Arab investors sales amounted JD138.0 million, 87.3% of non-Jordanians total sales, while the value of non-Arab sales amounted JD20.1 million, representing 12.7% of the total sales by non-Jordanians. Non-Jordanian ownership in companies listed at the ASE by end of January 2009 represented 49.4% of the total market value, 34.7% for Arab investors and 14.7% for non-Arab investors. At the sector level, the non-Jordanian ownership in the financial sector was 51.4%, in the services sector was 34.3%, and in the industrial sector was 53.2%.

The total value of shares that were bought by non-Jordanian investors during the year 2009 was JD2135.4 million, representing 22.1% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted JD2139.2 million. As a result, the net of non-Jordanian investment during the year 2009 showed a decrease by JD3.8 million, compared to an increase by JD309.8 million during the year 2008.
Arab investors purchases during the Year 2009 were JD1896.3 million, or 88.8% of the overall purchases by non-Jordanians, while the value of non-Arab purchases amounted JD239.1 million, constituting 11.2% of the total purchases. Arab investors sales amounted JD1889.4 million, 88.3% of non-Jordanians total sales, while the value of non-Arab sales amounted JD249.8 million, representing 11.7% of the total sales by non-Jordanians.
The total value of shares bought by non-Jordanian investors during December 2009 was JD120.1 million, representing 18.3% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted to JD125.0 million. Thus, the net of non-Jordanian investment during December 2009 showed a decrease by JD4.9 million
Non-Jordanian ownership in companies listed at the ASE by end of December 2009 represented 48.9% of the total market value, 33.4% for Arab investors and 15.5% for non-Arab investors. At the sector level, the non-Jordanian ownership in the financial sector was 51.9%, in the services sector was 32.3%, and in the industrial sector was 53.1%.

The total value of shares that were bought by Non-Jordanian investors since the beginning of the year 2009 until October was JD1960.8 million, representing 23.0% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted to JD1953.7 million. As a result, the net of non-Jordanian investment until October 2009 showed an increase by JD7.1 million, compared to an increase by JD342.6 million in the same period of the year 2008.
Arab investors purchases during 2009 were JD1739.4 million, or 88.7% of the overall purchases by non-Jordanians, while the value of non-Arab purchases amounted to JD221.4 million, constituting 11.3%. Arab investors sales amounted to JD1730.3 million, 88.6% of non-Jordanians total sales, while the value of non-Arab sales amounted to JD223.4 million, representing 11.4% of the total sales by non-Jordanians.
The total value of shares bought by non-Jordanian investors during October 2009 was JD173.1 million, representing 23.1% of the overall trading value, while the value of shares sold by them amounted to JD185.1million. Thus, the net of non-Jordanian investment during October 2009 showed a decrease by JD12.0 million.
Non-Jordanian ownership in companies listed at the ASE by end of October 2009 represented 48.0% of the total market value, 33.5% for Arab investors and 14.5% for non-Arab investors. At the sector level, the non-Jordanian ownership in the financial sector was 50.9%, in the services sector was 32.1%, and in the industrial sector was 51.9%.

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