Jordan's economic growth is expected to rise to 2.7% this year, says CBJ Governor
AMMAN: Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Adel Sharkas said that that the partnership between the government and the banking sector constitutes a key pillar for building a more resilient economy and adaptable to regional and international changes, according to a statement on Monday by Al-Mamlaka TV.
Sharkas said during the launch of the banks' initiative to allocate 90 million dinars to support the health and education sectors on Sunday, that the Central Bank expects the growth of the Jordanian economy to rise to 2.7 per cent in 2025, and to continue to rise to 3.5 per cent in the medium term.
He pointed out that the inflation rate reached 2.2 per cent during the first two months of this year, with expectations that it will stabilise at 2 per cent in 2025, which ensures the stability of purchasing power and the competitiveness of the national economy, while the dollarisation rate decreased to 18.4 per cent in an indication of enhancing confidence in the Jordanian dinar and the banking sector, and the stability of the macroeconomic environment.
Sharkas added that the Jordanian economy is achieving a positive performance, as national exports grew by 4.1 per cent in 2024 to reach $ 12.1 billion, and tourism income recorded an increase of 22 percent during the first month of this year compared with the same period in 2024.
Remittances from Jordanian expatriates to the Kingdom also increased by 2.8 percent in 2024, and the Kingdom attracted foreign direct investment worth $1.3 billion during the first three quarters of 2024, despite regional instability, which contributed to supporting foreign reserves and boosting domestic demand.
The CBJ Governor pointed out that these positive developments resulted in economic growth of 2.4 per cent during the first three quarters of 2024, with growth expected to stabilise at this rate for the whole of 2024, exceeding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast of 2.3 per cent.
The governor said that Jordanian banks maintain high capital levels, as the capital adequacy ratio reached 18 per cent at the end of 2024, which far exceeds the minimum set by the CBJ of 12 per cent as well as the minimum set by the Basel III Committee of 10.5 per cent.
Jordan's banking sector enjoys comfortable levels of legal liquidity of nearly 145 per cent, exceeding the central bank's minimum of 100 per cent.
The ratio of non-performing debt remained at relatively low levels of 5.6 per cent, while the provision coverage rate for these debts reached 74.8 per cent, which contributes to enhancing macro stability and confirms the ability of banks to ably meet future economic challenges, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
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