FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES
ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2013
SECURITIES DEPOSITORY CENTER (SDC) OF JORDAN
The SDC plays a vital role in supporting
transparency through an initiative known
as “Data For All, Not Just For Sale”.
Khalil Naser
Chief Executive Officer
As part of Jordan’s vision towards establishing a
progressive economy and a dynamic investment
environment, the Securities Depository Center
(SDC) was established as a public utility institution
and began operating in 1999. Ever since the SDC
became the sole entity empowered the responsibilities
of registering, depositing, transferring ownership,
safekeeping, and clearing and settlement of securities.
Accordingly, the SDC built Securities Central
Operation Registry Processing and Information Online
(SCORPIO)® system in order to provide various
services to investors, its members including public
shareholding companies, brokers and custodians
such services include investor identification and
account set up, statement of ownership balance,
statements of account, pledging, freezing, online
Role of the Depository
The Securities Depository Center of Jordan is a public
utility institution established in the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan by virtue of the Securities Law. The SDC
commenced operation in May 1999 and is the only
entity in Jordan that is legally empowered to oversee
the registration of securities, deposit of securities,
transfer of ownership, safekeeping of securities and
clearing and settlement of securities transactions.
The SDC is one of the most important institutions in
Jordan’s capital market as it holds the ownership
register of all public shareholding companies where
ownership registration is in the beneficial owner name
where nominee & street names does not apply. As
a key component in the modernization of the capital
market, the SDC implemented a delivery-versus-
payment (DVP) settlement protocol. DVP, a globally
recommended settlement methodology that ensures
the simultaneous delivery of securities against final
payment of funds. The ownership is transferred on
T+2 and backdated to T, these transfers are final and
irrevocable, and financial settlements are currently
conducted via the Central Bank of Jordan’s Real Time
Gross Settlement System (RTGS-JO) which is a central
real time, gross final & irrevocable electronic settlement
system, using SWIFT instructions to effect transfers
with immediate value. It is worth mentioning that the
Tight coupling environment set in March 2009 in the
Jordanian Capital Market, introducing linkage between
the SDC & the ASE that in turn, organize trading and
reduce risks related to trade’s transactions that in turn
positively reflects on clearing and settlement process
at the SDC and reduce risks in the Jordan Capital
Market. During the latest years, the SDC continued to
improve and enhance the electronic linkage with the
institutions of capital market in the Kingdom.
The SDC also developed the “Securities Central
Operation Registry Processing & Information Online
(SCORPIO)” system. SCORPIO, an SDC-designed
account viewing. The SDC plays a vital role in
supporting transparency through an initiative known
as “Data For All, Not Just For Sale”, from this initiative
the SDC provides various services through its website
such as the online account viewing, members’ area
and an electronic initial public offering (e-IPO), and
electronic service that enable the investor to view
corporate actions and all aspects related to it, in
addition to, dynamic charts that provides analysis of
trading.
In addition to the information that is provided in
a timely, accurate and updated manner such as
board members’ names, holdings and trades, major
shareholders, financial figures and statistical data.
and implemented system, is bilingual and it provides
a complete solution for the registration, deposit and
clearing and settlement.
The SDC offers different services to investors in
securities including pledging services, providing
investors with statements of their securities balances
that show the securities owned by them and their
distributions among members; in addition to providing
investors with the ability to freeze their securities in
the central registry. There are no restrictions on the
remittance of investment funds into or out of Jordan,
all income & capital gained from investment in Jordan
are exempted from tax; this includes cash & stock
dividends.
The most prominent achievement of the SDC is
implementing the business continuity & disaster
recovery plans according to the requirements of the
international standards and its positive effects on the
SDC’s performance such as security, continuity of
business operations, maintaining market readiness,
reducing the cost of risk management and serving 24/7
of all members with high speed link.
Participation Criteria
The SDC’s members are public shareholding
companies, brokers, custodians and any other entity
determine by the Board of Commission of JSC.
Eligible Pledgee
Pledgees are not considered members in that capacity
yet. However, it is within the SDC’s plans as soon as
the legal framework for it is approved.
Issuers
Membership is obligatory for public shareholding
companies by virtue of the Securities Law.
Size of Guarantee Fund
JOD 10,570,000 (US$14,895,722) as of 31
December,2012.
In 2012, the SDC has launched new website on the
Internet on the address (www.sdcjordan.com), taking
in consideration that the current SDC’s website is still
available for the time being at the address (www.sdc.
com.jo).
Another electronic service that the SDC has
introduced through its new website is web services for
extracting statistical data, this service enables users to
obtain data automatically with high efficiency through
the mechanism of direct connection with the SDC by
using (Web Services) technology that enables the
users to store and analyze statistical data.
Does the SDC act as a central counter party
No
Memberships in other International Organizations
Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA)
Africa & Middle East Depositories Association
(AMEDA)
Federation of Euro-Stock Exchanges (FEAS)
Federation of Arab Stock Exchanges (FASE)
Central Securities Depositories (CSD)
Association of Global Custodian (AGC)
Thomas Murray (TM)
Legal Status
Public utility institution
Type of Commercial Entity
Not for profit
Regulated by
Jordan Securities Commission
Form of Securities
Dematerialized no physical certificates being issued
in Jordan
Form of Settlement
Book Entry
Settlement Cycle
T+2
Turnaround Trades
Allowed provided the same broker in the same
settlement cycle
Numbering
• ISIN CODES complying with the International
Standard ISO-6166
• CFI Code complying with the International Standard
ISO-10962
* Please refer to page 21 for the Jordan country report.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Name Mr. Khalil Naser E-mail [email protected] Website www.sdc.com.jo
Address The Securities Depository Center (SDC) 2nd Floor - Capital Market Building, Al-Mansour Bin Abi Amer Street
Al-Abdali Area, Al-Madina Al-Riyadiya District, Amman, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
P.O.B. (212465) Amman 11121 Jordan
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