The World Bank approved loan to Jordan
The World Bank said that it approved a $250 million loan to the Jordan to aid nation in the overcoming economic difficulties. In an e-mailed statement, the World Bank said that the loan helps the country to manage the short-term shocks and the global economic downturn caused by the political events in the region. The World Bank didn’t give the details on the interest rate of this loan.
The World Bank said that the kingdom’s economy was hurt by increasing fuel and food prices because tourism dropped 16%, foreign direct investment declined 32 % due to regional unrest last year and remittances from expatriates fell 3 percent. The World Bank said that social expenditures in response to these shocks make Jordan’s vulnerability to further shocks and have increased fiscal deficits. It is including large untargeted subsidies.
Jordan is one of the smallest economies in the Middle East. It grants to support its current-account deficits and budget and imports almost all of its energy relies and needs on foreign investment. Al Arab Al Yawm reported on Jan. 24 that Jordan’s energy bill is forecast to rise this year from 3.5 billion dinars in 2011 to 4 billion dinars as consumption rises and because of disruption to natural-gas deliveries from Egypt.
