Amman Stock Exchange Performance During 2007

Mr. Jalil Tarif the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) CEO said that the ASE Price Index Weighted by Market Capitalization closed at 7519 points by the end of 2007 compared with 5518 points by the end of 2006, a 36% increase. The ASE Price Index Weighted by Free-Float Shares stood at 3675 points by the end of year 2007 compared with the year 2006 closing at 3014 points an increase by 22%. This came as a result of the increase in the Services Sector index by 34%, the Industry Sector index by 31%, and the Financial Sector index by 14%.

It’s worth mentioning that the Media, Mining and Extraction Industries, Utilities and Energy, Technology and Communications sub-sectors were the top best performers, their price indexes increased by 81%, 70%, 59%, and 38% respectively. The Health Care Services, Pharmaceutical and Medical Industries, Tobacco and Cigarettes were the main declined sub-sectors, their price indexes decreased by 27%, 9%, and 3% respectively.

Trading value reached JD12.3 billion a decrease by 13% compared to the year 2006. The number of shares traded increased by 9% compared with the year 2006, reaching 4.5 billion shares, and the number of executed transactions increased by 1% compared with the year 2006, reaching 3.5 million transactions. The turnover ratio for the ASE decreased to 91% compared with 101% for the year 2006. Number of listed companies at the ASE increased to 245 companies compared with 227 companies by the end of 2006.

The ASE market capitalization reached JD29.2 billion by the end of year 2007, an increase of 39% over the end of 2006, representing 289% of the GDP, which is considered to be a high ratio on the international level, this reflects the importance the ASE plays in the national economy, Mr. Tarif added.

By the end of November 2007, the net investment of non-Jordanian investors increased by of JD469 million, compared to JD181 million during 2006. As a result, non-Jordanian investors ownership in the ASE market capitalization increased to 48.2% by the end of November 2007 compared with 45.5% by the end of 2006.