Amman, February 2009 – Amlak Finance-Jordan, a company specialized in Shariah-compliant real estate financing, reduced its capital from JD60 million to JD1 million in its General Assembly held on the 8th of February 2009.

This precautionary measure is in line with the Board of Directors' responsibility to protect the rights of the company's shareholders and to make informative decisions based on a deep understanding of current developments within the real estate market, which is considered to be one of the world's most affected economic sectors by the global financial crisis. In accordance with this decision the company has asked the Amman Stock Exchange to freeze Amlak's stock trade until it has completed its capital reduction process.

Through this step Amlak aims to enhance the mutual trust between its shareholders and the company’s board of directors, and to protect the interests of its shareholders by allowing them to retrieve their finances and employ them as they see fit until sector stability returns and the real estate market's future is clear. The Board members, who make up the majority of the company’s shareholders, also agreed to reevaluate the company's operations and strategies over the next few months based on forecasted long-term market trends.

Amlak's key investors confirmed that their decision is limited to one particular sector which has been severely impacted by the current financial crisis, and does not negate their strong confidence in Jordan's investment environment nor the resilience of the Jordanian economy, which is considered to be one of the least affected economies in the region by the financial crisis. They also affirmed that their investments in other vital sectors in the Kingdom continue to yield consistent returns and are still performing as planned.