03 August 2018/Jordan – Review of ASE and SDC Business Processes and Institutional Capacity
Location:
Jordan
Business sector:
Financial institutions
Project number:
74675
Funding source:
JPN – Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund; SFEBSF – EBRD Shareholders SF
Contract type:
Consultancy Services
Notice type:
Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)
Issue date:
03 Aug 2018
Closing date:
07 Sep 2018 at 23:59 London
Access eSelection
Single State Open Competitive Selection- Request for Proposals
Project Description: Local Currency and Capital Markets Development (“LC2”) is one of the key strategic initiatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“the EBRD” or “the Bank”). The strategic objectives agreed for the Initiative are to achieve more efficient and self-sustaining financial intermediation in the Bank’s Countries of Operation through broader use of local currency instruments and the development of local capital markets, thereby contributing to economic progress and fostering a more stable financial environment. Technical cooperation is one of the most important mechanisms used to achieve the desired transition impact.
Subsequent to the G-8 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Marseille in September 2011, the International Financial Institutions concerned jointly agreed on eight focus areas of activity under the Deauville Partnership to support countries in the Arab world engaged in transitions toward “free, democratic and tolerant societies”. The EBRD and the Arab Monetary Fund were tasked with leading the module on the development of capital markets in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. It was agreed that they will provide technical assistance support in a coordinated manner according to each institution’s mandate and expertise to help these countries deepen local capital market development. For more information see http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm110910-deauville-ifi-en.html.
Within this context the Jordan Securities Commission (“the JSC”) approached the EBRD, requesting the Bank’s technical assistance to prepare a 5-year Strategy and Roadmap (the Roadmap) with a view to further reform Jordanian capital markets. The Roadmap was presented to and discussed with local stakeholders during a December 2016 event in Amman organised under the patronage of H.E. the Prime Minister of Jordan.
The JSC approved the Roadmap in January 2017 (available at www.lc2-reports.com/JordanCM-Roadmap.pdf) and sent a further request to the EBRD through the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation for continued support in the phased implementation of the Roadmap. Demonstrating Jordan’s commitment to the project, H.E. the Prime Minister ordered the creation of a Capital Market Working Group (“the CMWG”) in April 2017, a high level committee that will steer the implementation of the Roadmap across different stakeholders in the coming years. The CMWG brings together the following stakeholders: the JSC, Amman Stock Exchange, Securities Depository Centre, Companies Controller, Financial Services Companies Association, Central Bank of Jordan, Social Security Investment Fund, and the Income and Sales Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance.
To support the CMWG in carrying out the reforms outlined in the Roadmap, the EBRD is funding the Capital Market Development Project (t”he Project”), commenced in April 2018 and envisioned as a 3-year effort. The Project consists of five Working Teams, one of which relates to Operations of the Amman Stock Exchange (“the ASE”) and the Securities Depository Centre (the SDC).
Currently, both the ASE and the SDC are owned by the Jordanian Government. The ASE has recently been corporatised. The SDC is a unique organisation established under law, but without corporate form. The employees of both organisations are within the civil service system. Neither institution receives budget support; their operations are funded by fees charged to members. Their “excess profits” are forwarded to the State budget.
In partnership with the ASE and the SDC, and with a view towards building institutional capacity and increasing efficiency and effectiveness, the EBRD now intends to engage a consulting firm (“the Consultant”) to review the organisational structure and operations of these two entities.
Assignment Description: The overall objective of the Project is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the capital market infrastructure covering trading, clearing and settlement.
The specific objective of this assignment (“the Assignment”) is to review the organisation, staffing and financial structures of the ASE and the SDC in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness, build staff capacity and increase compliance with international practices. In the ASE’s case an additional objective is to make it more attractive to potential investors. In the SDC’s case an additional objective is to recommend the optimal legal structure to allow it to meet the requirements of the relevant international standards.
To accomplish the above objectives, the Consultant shall, subject to the direction of the EBRD Operation Leader (“the OL”) and the Project’s Technical Team Lead (“the TTL”), provide the following services:
Activity 1: Assessing the ASE’s and SDC’s compliance with applicable international standards, or in the case where self-assessment has already occurred, reviewing and validating those results.
Activity 2: Reviewing organisation and staffing structures, and providing recommendations for increased efficiency and effectiveness.
Activity 3: Providing scenarios on potential staffing structures if the ASE and the SDC were no longer required to recruit staff within the civil service system.
Activity 4: Providing scenarios for increased profitability if the ASE and SDC were allowed to repurpose portions of profit now deemed “excess”, to expand their operations and services.
Activity 5: Providing ideas on how to make the ASE more attractive to new investors.
Activity 6: Reviewing whether a change in the SDC’s legal structure would help it better achieve efficiency goals and/or meet the requirements of international standards.
The Terms of reference are available through this link: http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/tors74675.docx
Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection.
Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in Q3 2018 and has an estimated overall duration of up to 20 months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 250,000.00 (exclusive of VAT). Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the specific needs of the Bank the Assignment may be extended beyond the current scope.
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an International Financial Institution and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source: It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by Japan-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund. Please note selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the consultant’s country of origin.
Consultant Profile: The Consultant will be a consulting firm or a group of firms specialising in securities market operations with extensive international experience (preferably including both developed and developing markets). The Consultant should have expertise in all areas defined in the scope of services. Experience working in similar assignments and/or Jordan, would be an advantage. As a minimum, the Consultant’s expert team is expected to include the following key experts:
- a)Key Expert 1 – Team Leader
– Preferably more than 10 years of extensive international exchange and capital markets knowledge, particularly in Middle Eastern or other frontier markets.
– Preferably experience in devising the strategy for a major stock exchange.
– Preferably more than five years of project management experience including acting as team leader on similar assignments.
– Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.
b) Key Expert 2 – International expert(s)
– Preferably 7 years of international consultancy experience in securities market operations
– Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.
c) Key Expert 3 – Local expert(s)
– Preferably 7 years of consultancy experience in securities market operations.
– A good understanding of the securities market in Jordan, including the ASE and the SDC.
– Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English and Arabic.
Submission Requirements: consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/single-stage-package.docx. Interested consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.
- The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The technical proposal should not exceed 30 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).
2. The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals. A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a financial proposal shall be declared non-responsive.
Bank Contact Person:
Larissa Gosling / Elena Kolodiy
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 6338 / 6765
e-mail: goslingl@ebrd.com / kolodiyo@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via email to the Bank Contact Person by 17 August 2018.
Selection Method and Evaluation Criteria:
- Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria
a) Firm’s previous consultancy project experience in international exchange and capital markets knowledge, particularly in Middle Eastern or other frontier markets (25%);
b) Firm’s relevant project experience in Jordan (10%);
c) Project methodology and work plan (25%);
d) CVs of Key Experts (40%), with 20% allocated to the team leader and 20% allocated to the other team members.
The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70%.
- Opening of Financial Proposals
After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70% or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.
- Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation
The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:
Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and “F” the price of the Proposal under consideration.
Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 80; F = 20) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.
Notes:
1. The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.
2. The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
3. Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.
Sources:
EBRD