Amman, May 17 (Petra) -- The Cabinet on Sunday approved an amended draft of the Investment Environment Regulation for 2026, aimed at modernizing the regulatory framework to boost direct investment and drive job creation.

The legislative session was chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan.

The amendment is part of the executive program of the Economic Modernization Vision, which focuses on streamlining municipal bureaucracies and reforming corporate operating procedures.

Tareq Abu Ghazaleh, Minister of Investment, stated that the newly approved revisions address feedback gathered from private enterprise stakeholders across various economic sectors. The core changes focus on simplifying regulatory compliance, minimizing procedural gridlock, and shortening the legal timeframes required to secure operating licenses and state permits.

A primary reform introduced in the updated regulations is the "conditional compliance operating license." This mechanism allows enterprises in designated development zones to receive conditional licensing upon an official pledge by the investor to meet state requirements. The approach shifts administrative oversight to post-licensing inspections, aiming to speed up commercial launches while preserving public safety and service quality.

The updated framework expands the scope of corporate eligibility for state investment incentives. The qualifying thresholds for industrial expansion, facility upgrades, and the integration of advanced technologies have been systematically lowered. The amendment also adds creative industries to the list of sectors eligible for fiscal incentives.

Abu Ghazaleh added that the updates restructure the deployment of official commissioners representing government bodies within the state’s comprehensive investment service centers. The measure seeks to re-engineer administrative procedures within free zones and development zones to accelerate processing times.

The government aims for these regulatory adjustments to position Jordan as a more competitive regional investment hub. This approach is intended to generate sustainable employment opportunities and advance local infrastructure development across the country's governorates.

The investment ministry expects the updated rules to improve Jordan's standing in international ease-of-doing-business indices by providing long-term regulatory clarity, transparency, and institutional stability for foreign and domestic capital.

The draft regulation was finalized following cross-sectoral consultations with more than 25 public and private entities, alongside a broad base of active corporate investors.

//Petra// AF