Kuwait is Top Investor in Jordan with $18 Billion

General view of an empty roundabout during a COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic curfew in the center of Jordan's capital Amman. (AFP)
General view of an empty roundabout during a COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic curfew in the center of Jordan's capital Amman. (AFP)
TT

Kuwait is Top Investor in Jordan with $18 Billion

General view of an empty roundabout during a COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic curfew in the center of Jordan's capital Amman. (AFP)
General view of an empty roundabout during a COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic curfew in the center of Jordan's capital Amman. (AFP)

Kuwait's ambassador to Jordan Aziz Al-Daihani revealed on Saturday that Kuwait is the first investor in Jordan with investments worth 5.5 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($18 billion).

During a meeting organized by the Jordanian Businessmen Association under the title (the development of Jordanian-Kuwaiti economic relations), Al-Daihani said he hoped economic cooperation between between the two brotherly countries would expand to reach a political cooperation level.

Al-Daihani said Jordan and Kuwait have signed up to 73 joint agreements, most of which are economic, noting that meetings between the joint committee and the technical committee of both countries are being organized.

He also hailed the investment climate in Jordan and the interest of the political leadership in supporting the investor who are looking for an encouraging climate and a stable investment environment, calling on Jordanian businessmen to take advantage of investment opportunities in Kuwait.

Al-Daihani reviewed the Kuwaiti humanitarian role in supporting Jordanian efforts to absorb the repercussions of refugee crises in the region, appreciating the role of the Jordanian Businessmen Association in strengthening economic cooperation relations between the two countries and discussing issues of concern to the Kuwaiti and Jordanian private sectors.



Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
TT

Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.