Amman, Sep. 13 (Petra) – The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) on Thursday crossed the 3,000-point threshold for the first time since 2008, marking a milestone that underscores rising confidence among local, Arab, and international investors in the Jordanian economy and the growing appeal of its financial market amid improving macroeconomic indicators.
Minister of State for Economic Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh said the achievement reflects the resilience of Jordan’s economy and its capacity to adapt to regional and international challenges. He noted that the surge in the general index was driven by investor confidence in the national economy and by government measures and policies that have cultivated a stable and balanced investment climate.
Shehadeh highlighted that Jordan’s economy has shown notable resilience in recent years, underpinned by a clear economic vision and reform agenda spanning multiple sectors. These reforms have strengthened investor trust and attracted new domestic and foreign investments, directly elevating the financial market to levels unseen in more than 15 years.
He further stated that the index’s rise aligns with a clear improvement in other national economic indicators. Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.7 percent, exports increased by 9 percent, tourism revenues registered significant gains, and foreign currency reserves exceeded $23 billion, figures that affirm Jordan’s economic and financial stability.
Shehadeh detailed the series of government steps that bolstered liquidity and expanded trading activity, including allowing investors seeking citizenship to channel investments through the stock exchange, exempting mutual funds from taxes, reducing brokerage commissions, and extending trading hours. These measures have improved the investment climate and broadened investor participation across all market segments.
For his part, Mazen Wathaifi, CEO of the Amman Stock Exchange, said the milestone reflects close coordination between the market’s regulatory and legislative bodies, chiefly the Jordan Securities Commission and the Securities Depository Center, along with the ASE’s pivotal role in developing the market’s technical and regulatory infrastructure.
Wathaifi underscored that recent amendments to relevant laws and regulations have boosted transparency, strengthened investor confidence, and injected new liquidity into the market. These reforms, he noted, have been mirrored in the performance of listed companies, with the share prices of 96 firms rising since the start of the year.
He added that the Jordan Phosphate Mining Company ranked sixth in terms of percentage gains, with the mining sector as a whole spearheading market advances during the current period.
//Petra// AJ
