What is the Amman Stock Exchange?

The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) is a nonprofit, privately managed market for securities trading. The ASE is the only securities exchange operating in Jordan, and it has active markets for the trading of both equities and bonds. It is based in and named after Amman, the capital city of Jordan. The Amman Stock Exchange was founded in 1999 and grew steadily throughout the next decade. A stock index is compiled and managed by the Amman Financial Market based on stock prices on the ASE, and it uses standard methodology to reflect the performance of the securities listed there.

Trading on the Amman Stock Exchange is handled by brokers licensed by the Jordan Securities Commission. Trades on the market are conducted anonymously, and buyers and sellers are matched by the exchange’s internal software. The identity of traders participating in a given transaction does become visible after the trade has been recorded, but no information beyond the identity of the licensed traders involved in the deal is disclosed.

Foreigners who wish to engage in trade on the Amman Stock Exchange must do so through locally licensed brokers. These brokers are credentialed by the Jordanian Securities Commission. Apart from this restriction, foreigners face no significant limits in trading on the ASE.

Jordan imposes no capital gains tax on transactions carried out on the exchange. There are no limits placed on foreigners trading on the exchange or transferring profits made through trades conducted on the exchange to other countries. Jordan has negotiated several treaties, primarily with neighboring countries, to prevent double taxation of profits.

The Amman Stock Exchange is funded by a small commission levied on any trade brokered through the Exchange. This fee helps to fund the infrastructure behind the Amman Stock Exchange, and it funds the Jordanian Securities Commission and Securities Depository Center, which also provide services and support for the Amman Stock Exchange. The commission that brokers who trade on the exchange are allowed to charge for a trade that is brokered through the exchange must be less than a certain percentage of the trade's value.

The Amman Stock Exchange is affiliated with other world stock exchanges and exchange systems. It participates in the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges, the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, The International Organization for Securities Commissions and the World Federation of Exchanges. It operates under Jordan’s Securities Law of 1997.