Bond windfall drives jump in Jordan pension fund income

Returns from bond investments have propped up Jordan’s pension fund, even as equity gains slowed down. The Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) held c. JOD 20.1 bn (USD 28.4 bn) in assets at the end of September, up 8% since January, it said in a statement. Net income rose 8.6% y-o-y to JOD 879 mn (USD 1.2 bn) during the same period, led by a JOD 511.4 mn (USD 721.3 mn) windfall from bonds. Revaluation gains on SSIF’s strategic equity stakes, though, fell to JOD 492.4 mn (USD 694.5 mn) from JOD 741.7 mn (USD 1.1 bn) a year earlier.

The SSIF is as close as it gets to a sovereign fund in Jordan. More than half of its assets are invested in bonds, followed by 21.3% in equities, 12% in money market, and 6% in real estate. The SSIF is now taking a more active role in banking infrastructure and investment ventures, much of which are GCC-partnered projects. The SSIF holds 20% of the IPP7 combined-cycle power plant, a 15% in the National Water Carrier Project, and a 7% of the Emirati-Jordanian Aqaba-Al Shidiya-Maan railway, a bet meant to cut transport costs for the phosphate mining and processing industries. The fund also owns 50% of a USD 100 mn joint vehicle with the Oman Investment Authority, and is finalizing plans to buy 20% in a purified phosphoric acid production plant project co-developed with Phosphate Mines Company and Arab Potash Company.

From crude to cathode

Aramco tapped oilfield services firm National Energy Services Reunited (Nesr) to set up a lithium demonstration project in the Kingdom, according to a statement. The five-year USD 200 mn agreement will see Nesr’s environmental unit use its proprietary Lithara platform to extract lithium from brine, targeting 2k tons a year of battery-grade lithium carbonate from late 2027.

Why it matters: We reported in January that access to critical minerals like lithium — which goes into rechargeable batteries for everything from phones and laptops to EVs and grid storage — was moving up the policy agenda across the GCC in 2026 as industrial development and energy transition efforts gather pace. The Shura Council already raised the issue of locally sourcing lithium in 2024, citing future demand for electric vehicles.

Sting operation

Edge is going to Morocco: UAE’s defense champion Edge Group will provide Morocco’s air force with its Desert Sting 16 (DS 16) air-to-surface guided glide munitions and Thunder P31 precision munition, under an agreement with the Royal Armed Forces’ Administration of National Defense (ADN). Both products will be arming Morocco’s growing fleet of drones. About the products: The DS 16 is a 23-kg bomb with a 15-km range, while the Thunder P31 is a guided package that is added on top of the US-made MK 81 to convert it from a general-purpose bomb into a precision weapon. ALSO- Edge inked an MoU with ADN to explore local manufacturing ventures in Morocco, with a focus on small arms and aerospace engines. Under the MoU, Edge’s small arms subsidiary Caracal and aerosystems arm Powertech will explore possible partnerships with Moroccan counterparts.

Oil for asphalt

Iraq and Turkey are closing in on an arrangement to finance the Iraq Development Road (IDR) projects. Under the arrangement, Baghdad and Ankara will set up a joint fund financed by Iraqi oil exports to Turkey, with the funds to be disbursed to Turkish contractors executing the USD 17 bn rail and road corridor project, Fadel Abbas, director of projects at the General Company for Iraqi Railways, told the state-run Iraq News Agency. About the IDR: The corridor is designed to support Europe-GCC trade flows through Turkey, leveraging the upcoming Grand Faw Port on the Gulf and a spate of road and rail connections. The first phase of the project is expected to get World Bank financing and is targeting rail freight capacity of 2.5 mn tons.

Cairo to Algiers, by EV

Elsewedy Electric eyes EV-making in wider Algeria push: Egyptian industrial conglomerate Elsewedy Electric has submitted a feasibility study to the Algerian prime minister's office to build an electric and hybrid vehicle plant under the Elsewedy EZZ brand. The factory targets 50-60% local content, and plans to source the remaining key parts from Germany and China. REMEMBER- The Egyptian company said in May it will invest an additional USD 1.3 bn in Algeria’s industry, housing, tourism, and agriculture sectors, on top of a USD 2.5 bn multi-factory commitment spanning water treatment, agriculture, irrigation, sanitation, and aluminum, the firm’s Algeria General Manager Mostafa Elhalawani said then.

Where does the Algeria push currently stand? Elsewedy is waiting for approvals for a steel plant, an aluminum facility, and seven pipeline manufacturing sites. Once online, Elsewedy plans to export a quarter of its Algerian production to roughly 20 international markets. Elsewedy has operated in the country for 15 years, where it remains the main local producer of high-voltage cables (up to 220 kV) and partners with state utility Sonelgaz.

Seoul mates

Egypt and South Korea upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership last week, with Presidents Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Lee Jae Myung launching negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), according to a joint statement. Both sides agreed to hold the first formal negotiation round in 1H 2027 and work toward an early conclusion. The pair also inked 12 cooperation documents, covering shipbuilding, clean energy, power infrastructure, and ICT sectors.

A renewed pitch for SCZone: The visit — El Sisi’s first to South Korea since 2016 — included a roundtable with 23 Korean companies where the president renewed Egypt’s invitation for a Korean industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Why it matters: Korean companies in Egypt generate more than USD 1.5 bn in annual production, roughly 80% exported to 47 markets across Africa and the Middle East. Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Rotem anchor that footprint. The strategic partnership upgrades the bilateral relationship from project-by-project cooperation to an institutional framework with regular foreign-ministerial strategic dialogue, defense-industry coordination, and a formal CEPA track.