Amman: Since its inception in 2003, the Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF), the investment arm of the Social Security Corporation (SSC), has yielded significant returns while preserving the real value of assets and ensuring the necessary liquidity to fulfill future obligations of the SSC, as stated by its president, Ezzedine Kanakrieh.
Kanakrieh affirmed that the SSIF stands as the largest in Jordan, with assets totaling about JD 14.9 billion by the end of 2023, representing approximately 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product at current prices.
He noted that the Fund has received considerable royal attention over the past 25 years, underscoring the importance of bolstering the role of the SSC and its investment fund in safeguarding social protection for citizens.
In remarks to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), marking the silver jubilee of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s accession to the throne, Kanakrieh outlined that the fund’s assets are diversified among several investment portfolios, including bon
ds, stocks, money market instruments, real estate, loans, and tourism investments.
Touching upon the financial performance achievements, Kanakrieh highlighted the growth in asset volume since the Fund’s establishment in 2003, rising from JD 1.6 billion to approximately JD 14.9 billion by the end of 2023, based on preliminary data. This growth reflects returns on investment across various instruments, including financial tools like money market instruments, bonds, loans, stock investments, real estate, and tourism.
Based on preliminary figures, the fund garnered income across various investment instruments totaling JD 802.3 million by the end of 2023, compared to JD 684.2 million in 2022, marking an increase of JD 118.1 million, with a growth rate of approximately 17.3 percent.
Regarding investments in the stock portfolio, Kanakrieh noted a figure of about JD 2.3 million in 2023. He emphasized the fund’s status as a long-term strategic investor in companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, reflected in t
he portfolio’s distribution and the quality of its investments, known for achieving desirable returns with acceptable risks.
The fund’s portfolio includes shares of over 50 public joint-stock companies, primarily in the banking, industrial, and service sectors, characterized by robust financial positions, good annual growth rates, and regular cash distributions to shareholders.
The value of the fund’s portfolio of shares in public joint-stock companies reached approximately JD 2.1 billion by the end of 2023, representing about 12.4 percent of the total market value of the Amman Stock Exchange.
Kanakrieh detailed that investments in the banking sector are among the Fund’s prominent ventures in the Amman Stock Exchange. This sector plays a crucial role in the Jordanian economy, providing financing for major projects, small businesses, and promising sectors such as information technology, tourism, and renewable energy. Moreover, it serves as a significant employer of highly skilled local talent.
The fund’s i
nvestments extend to 13 commercial and Islamic banks in Jordan, with varying ownership percentages, along with strategic stakes in key manufacturing companies like the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, the Arab Potash Company, and the Jordan Cement Factories Company – Lafarge.
The Fund also invests in several public shareholding companies in the services sector, notably the Jordan Telecommunications Company and the Jordan Duty Free Company, alongside various insurance and financial services firms. It also possesses a collection of five- and four-star hotels managed by the International InterContinental Group (IHG), under the supervision of the National Tourism Development Company, wholly owned by the SSC, established in 1999.
Additionally, the Fund owns two hotels in Amman and Madaba, as well as multiple tourist resorts in key destinations across the Kingdom, managed by local Jordanian investors.
Kanakrieh highlighted the Fund’s ownership of shares in major tourism projects, investing in leading local compan
ies such as Eagle Hills Company (Saraya Aqaba project), Zara Investment Company (InterContinental/Amman, M?venpick Hotels/Dead Sea, Petra, and Aqaba), the International Company for Hotels and Commercial Markets (Sheraton Amman Hotel), the Tourism Business Company (Marriott Hotel/Dead Sea), the Jordan Tourism Projects Development Company (Tala Bay Project/Aqaba), and the Daman Investment Company (Aqaba Gate and Movenpick Hotel/Amman).
In the energy sector, the Fund diversifies its investments across oil refineries, electricity generation and distribution, and renewable energy projects. It holds shares in several entities, including the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, the Kingdom for Energy Investments Company, the Central Electricity Generation Company, and the Jordan Electric Power Company, along with indirect investments through the Kingdom for Energy Investments Company in the Electricity Distribution Company, the Irbid Governorate Electricity Company, and the Zarqa Electric Power Generation Company (Al
-Hussein Thermal Station).
The Fund has established and operates three solar energy generation stations in the regions of Al-Rama, Ghor Kabd, and Zarqa, supplying power to its premises and the branches of the SSC across the Kingdom, as well as SSC-owned hotels. Plans are underway to issue a tender for establishing a fourth solar energy station in the Shoubak area, supplying electricity to the Crowne Plaza Al-Batar Hotel.
With lands and commercial complexes across various governorates valued at approximately JD 845 million, the Fund develops and leases properties through long-term contracts, including Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangements.
To further its investments in the green economy and align with the royal vision for enhanced food security, the Fund established the “SSC Company for Investment and Agricultural Industries” in 2020, commencing operations by the end of 2021.
Last year, the company initiated the second phase of an agricultural project in the Al-Mudawara region in southern Jordan, culti
vating wheat, table potatoes, industrial potatoes, corn silage, and animal feed.
Managed by local Jordanian talent, the project has created over 110 job opportunities for engineers and agricultural workers, with 90 percent allocated to residents of the Al-Mudawara region and southern governorates, along with 80 seasonal job opportunities, with 50 percent for local women.
Source: Jordan News Agency