According to Kafalat, the number of issued loan guarantees stood at 223 guarantees in the first half of 2018 (H1), compared to 311 guarantees issued in H1 2017. The overall value of the guarantees also declined from $38.17M in the first half of 2017 to $28.8M in H1 2018.
In fact, the top three beneficiaries of Kafalat guarantees in the first half of 2018 were the agricultural, industrial, and tourism sectors which grasped 36.32%, 37.67%, and 21.52%, respectively of total guarantees.
Nonetheless, compared to last year, the number of Kafalat guarantees across the top sectors declined. In details, the guarantees to the agricultural sector fell from 127 by June 2017 to 81 by June 2018, while the number of guarantees for the industrial and tourism sectors also declined from 106 and 61 in H1 2017 to 84 and 48 in H1 2018, respectively.
Moreover, geographically, Mount Lebanon grasped the largest share of Kafalat loans in the first half of 2018, with a stake of 43.5% of total guarantees, followed by the Bekaa, the North, and Nabatieh, with shares of 17.04%, 10.76%, and 9.87%.
In the region of Mount Lebanon, the number of guarantees slipped from 143 in H1 2017 to 97 in H1 2018, while the guarantees granted in the Bekaa region also dropped from 62 to 38 over the same period. In Nabatieh, the number of guarantees slipped from 24 in the first half of 2017 to 22 in H1 2018.
Number and Value of Kafalat Guarantees Issued in H1
Source: Kafalat