JORDAN will soon set into motion plans to privatise its airline and divest the part government holding in Jordan Telecom, according to the chairman of the country’s Privatisation Commission.

Dr Mohammad S Abu Hammour told media the process of privatising Royal Jordanian Airlines was first initiated in 2000 but the events after September 11, 2001 stalled further moves.
“But now we are restarting the privatisation of the airline. In about 12 months we will be able to finalise the privatisation,” he said on the sidelines of the Privatisation Conference. “It has not yet been decided whether we will opt for a public offering or take a strategic partner.”
The International Finance Corp (IFC), part of the World Bank, he said, is acting as legal and financial consultant on the privatisation.
But the airline has already privatised its non-core business such as duty free and others, he added.
“Privatisation has helped in improved services and inward investments and therefore Jordan is looking at more privatisations,” he told the conference earlier.
Since 1996, some 66 companies have been privatised in Jordan of which some 13 were big ticket transactions in certain key sectors.
“Privatisation will continue and current projects range from $10 million to $1 billion. What helps privatisation is the leadership and the legal framework in the country,” he said.