JORDAN EMPHASIZES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT).

Jordan is just getting started in the world of e-commerce, but a workshop recently organized by Technology Association-Jordan (INTAJ) brought international and local IT pioneers to Jordan to develop strategies for e-commerce development. According to recent statistics by INTAJ, the size of the IT market in Jordan was US$60 million in 1999 and is estimated to have reached nearly US$177 million last year. It is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15 to 30 percent.

Participants agreed that the need to address the IT sector in Jordan has never been more urgent. With an e-government project underway, the Kingdom is witnessing spiraling expansion in its IT infrastructure. E-commerce remains the ultimate challenge to both the public and private sectors. Pivotal issues include telecom supply and demand in Jordan, streamlining customs, aviation and delivery systems, electronic payments, e-security issues, and successful strategies for tapping the e-commerce market.

Mustafa Nasereddin, executive director of the IT Consulting Services Department at Talal Abu Ghazaleh International (TAGI), talked about TAGI's initiative to launch the first credit bureau in Jordan and the importance of such a project to the IT sector. Nasereddin was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying: "The most important aspect in today's e-world is security. We seldom know enough about the party we are dealing with. What do you know about your business partner? It's time we have a third party provide the financial information needed to secure e-business."

The executive added that establishing a credit bureau would give companies and customers the security they need in doing business. Credit bureaus regularly engage in assembling or evaluating factual information bearing on the credit of businesses and consumers.

The majority of panelists agreed that a credit bureau would help boost the integration of IT companies in the local market. The CEO of Zeine Technologies stressed the need for a secure environment in which to do business. He stressed that the IT sector would benefit from the establishment of a credit bureau in Jordan.

Dikran Tchablakian, CEO of CompuMe, an IT tools online purchasing company, said that he definitely supports the establishment of a credit bureau in Jordan. He indicated that the need to know if your customer is creditworthy or not is most important, and that a credit bureau would provide an environment of secure business transactions, whether B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to customer). SOURCE: " INTAJ holds Jordan e-Commerce Workshop," Star Arabia, Jordan (27 May 2001); Internet <http://star.arabia.com>.