Despite repeated calls from the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) to banks and companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), only about 37 percent of them have submitted their half-year results as required under bourse rules, brokers said on Tuesday.
They told the Jordan Times that among these companies were major blue-chip firms such as the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), the Arab Potash Company, the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF), Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, and the Jordan Cement Factories Company.
“Some of these firms have delayed their results for technical reasons, while others have done so because they failed to record good results,” said one broker, who declined to be named. “Others did so due to the losses they incurred.”
“The more they delay submitting their mid-year results, the less confidence foreign investors will have in our bourse,” the broker added.
HBTF officials have said that their half-year results were being delayed because the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) was currently scrutinizing them.
They said the bank's mid-year budget could be made public as soon as they received the go-ahead from the CBJ.
The brokers said the bank's mid-year profits had declined compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, adding that the HBTF's mid-year profits could range from JD5 million to JD3 million.
Officials at the JPMC said their board of directors was expected to approve the mid-year results today during their meeting.
Brokers earlier said they expected that the company had incurred around JD53 million in losses. Although JPMC officials played down such speculation, they earlier confirmed that they had incurred losses this year.
The brokers said that JSC should not hesitate to take certain measures against companies that refuse to publish their half-year results.
“The firms that do not adhere to the instructions should be suspended from trading on the ASE, either temporarily or for a short while until they follow the rules,” one broker said.
Last week, a senior JSC official did not rule out the possibility of “suspending” from trading on the floor those firms that delay their half-year results. — (Jordan Times)
By Tareq Ayyoub
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
