Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue April 2018
BEMO Bank’s board of directors invited its shareholders for an ordinary general assembly that will be held at the bank’s headquarters in Riad el Solh, Beirut on May 28, 2018 at 09:00 a.m. The meeting’s ... read more
On March 14, 2018, the IMF issued a statement that highlighted medium-term projections on Lebanon’s debt to GDP ratio and economic growth as the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) is implemented. The IMF ... read more
According to the consolidated unaudited balance sheet of Bank of Beirut, Total assets fell by 1.31% y-t-d to $18.13B by Q1 2018. In details, Net Loans and Advances to Customers at amortized cost fell by ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Bank Audi in 2017 revealed an annual increase of 3.52% in the profits of Q1 2018, which stood at $114M, of which 42% from entities outside of Lebanon. According to ... read more
BLOM Bank published today its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2018. In a difficult environment characterized by a slowing economy, higher taxes on banks, and continuing regional ... read more
According to Bank BEMO’s unaudited consolidated financial statements, the bank’s profit for 2018’s first quarter (Q1) totaled $4.06M compared to $3.96M int the same period last year. The boost in the ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Lebanon’s gross public debt reached $81.5B in the second month of 2018, thereby recording an annual uptick of 7.08% and a 1.41% uptick from January 2018’s level. ... read more
According to the consolidated financial statements of BLC Bank, the bank’s net profit for the first three months of the year totaled $10.37M down by 1.44% year-on-year. This drop came as a result of the ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Byblos Bank revealed a 3.09% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in profits to $27.85M in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1 2018). The drop in profits is mainly attributed to the ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL reached $1.33B by the end of 2017, substantially higher than the $927M transferred over the same period in 2016. This decline mainly resulted from the ... read more
According to Global Blue, tourist spending in Lebanon rose by a yearly 1.57% in Q1 2018, compared to Q1 2017. This increase is mainly attributed to the 2.97% yearly rise in tourist arrivals by February ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 5.36% y-o-y, compared to an average inflation rate of 4.77% recorded by March 2018. The average costs ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the value of cleared checks reached $16.82B in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1 2018), down by 1.63% compared to the same period last year. Similarly, the ... read more
The board of directors (BoD) of Bank of Beirut (BOB) invited its shareholders this week to a general assembly to be held at the bank’s headquarters located in Foch Street, downtown Beirut. The meeting will ... read more
Byblos Bank’s BOD convened as expected on the 20th of April 2018 and approved the distribution of 2017 dividends as follows: Dividend per share in $ (net of the 10% witholding tax) Byblos Common shares ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of issued loan guarantees stood at 113 guarantees in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1), compared to 147 guarantees issued in the same quarter last year. The overall value of ... read more
RAMCO’s Beirut Residential Price Index revealed that the sale prices of residential apartments within the neighborhoods of Municipal Beirut dropped by 1.8% in 2017 (prices exclude developers’ negotiation ... read more
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, activity at the Port of Beirut (PoB) improved, with the port’s revenues recording a 7.38% annual growth to stand at $59.4M, thereby hitting a 5-year high in first quarter ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits fell by a yearly 6.58% to reach 2,316 by February 2018. The Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) also ... read more
In reference to BLOM Bank’s previous general assembly and dividend distribution announcement in March 2018, BLOM’s Board of Directors (BoD) convened in Beirut on April 11th as scheduled, approving the ... read more
The board of directors (BOD) of Byblos Bank invited the holders of preferred shares to the annual ordinary General Assembly Meeting that will be held at the bank’s headquarters in Ashrafieh, Elias Sarkis ... read more
The ordinary General Assembly of Bank Audi’s shareholders convened on April 10th as scheduled and announced the details of the gross distribution of dividends as per the below. Dividends will be paid ... read more
Lebanon’s trade deficit for the first month of 2018 stood at $1.42B, widening from the $1.37B registered in the same month last year. Total imports grew by 6.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $1.71B and exports ... read more
According to the latest report released by Ernst & Young, Beirut’s hotel occupancy fell to 54.9% during the first two months of 2018, compared to 62% registered during the same period last year. ... read more
The Central Bank’s (BDL’s) balance sheet posted a 3.82% year-to-date (y-t-d) rise in its total assets, which reached $122.78B. BDL’s Foreign assets (grasping 35.46% of total assets) rose by a 3.36%, since ... read more
Lebanon’s fiscal deficit narrowed by 24% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $3.76B by December 2017. This was attributed to the 17.15% yearly increase in fiscal revenues, to $11.62B, outpacing the 3.45% annual rise, ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BDL), total assets slipped by a monthly 1.20% to $121.28B in mid- March 2018. In details, Foreign Assets (constituting 35.79% of total ... read more
Kindly find below the link of Georges Abboud’s, Head of Private Banking Department at BLOMINVEST BANK, interview with L’Orient le Jour: George Abboud LOLJ Interview read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) added an incremental 0.09% over the past week to reach 1,131.34 points by May 3, 2018. The market capitalization also rose from last week’s $11.14B to $11.15B this week. An ... read more
The Lebanese Pound traded within the range of $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 by the week ending March 4th, at the same range as last week. Lebanese Forex Market The ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) declined by 1.41% to end the week at 96.62 points. It was surpassed by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which slid by 1.19% over the week ending Apr.5, 2018, to ... read more
During the week ending on Apr. 5, 2018, Broad Money (M3) contracted by a weekly LBP 166B ($110M) to reach LBP 210,065B ($139B). On a yearly basis, M3 added 3.65% and rose by 0.95% since the start of the ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.63% over the past week to reach 1,130.33 points. The market capitalization also fell from last week’s $11.21 billion to $11.14 billion. An average of 319,580 shares worth ... read more
During the week ending on March 22, 2018, Broad Money (M3) grew by a weekly LBP 760B ($504M) to reach LBP 209,292B ($139B). On a yearly basis, M3 added 3.17% and marginally rose by 0.50% since the start of ... read more
U.S. yields have quickly increased during the past few weeks and that has had an effect on investors’ risk appetite towards emerging markets. The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) concluded the past week dropping by ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market The Lebanese Pound traded within the range of $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 by the week ending April 27th, at the same range as last week. ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.19% over the past week to reach 1,137.53 as most banking stocks declined due to distribution of dividends. The market capitalization also fell from last week’s $11.23 ... read more
During the week ending on March 15, 2018, Broad Money (M3) declined by a weekly LBP 139B ($92M) to reach LBP 208,531B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 added 3.19% and marginally rose by 0.21% since the ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) concluded the past week contracting by an incremental 0.4%, to stand at 99.97 points. It managed to surpass the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which slipped by ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market The Lebanese Pound traded within the range of $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 by the week ending April 20th, compared to last week’s range of ... read more
Over the past two weeks ending April 13, 2018, the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) fell by 3.93% to close at 1,139.7 points. In fact, the recorded downtick is partly attributed to the Easter holidays during which ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market The Lebanese Pound traded within the range of $/LP 1,513.75 -1,514.25 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514, as it did in the previous two weeks. The peg continues ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) concluded the past two weeks falling by 0.57%, to stand at 100.37 points. Nonetheless, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) registered a rise of 0.42% during ... read more
During the week ending on March 15, 2018, Broad Money (M3) declined by a weekly LBP 139B ($92M) to reach LBP 208,531B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 added 3.19% and marginally rose by 0.21% since the ... read more
2017 was a politically charged year for Turkey. On one hand, the tumult on the Turkish political scene started back in July 2016 after a failed coup attempt to topple the government of President Erdogan; ... read more
The BLOM Lebanon Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 46.2 in April 2018, its lowest level of the year so far. The index was weighed down by a faster deterioration in the levels of output and ... read more
Business conditions failed to maintain their momentum in March and revealed a worsening business activity amongst companies in the private sector. Levels of Output and New Orders contracted at a faster ... read more
Net Profit ($ mn) ROACE (%) ROAA (%) Cost-to-Income (%) BLOM 116.83 15.21 1.42 37.03 Audi 114.08 12.00 1.05 50.50 BoB 50.68 10.50 1.11 47.00 Byblos 27.85 5.31 0.49 60.70 The ... read more
Overall Outlook: The Lebanese F&B Industry Business Monitor International (BMI hereafter) released its report on Lebanon’s Food and Beverages sector (F&B), where it analyses and projects the ... read more
The Lebanese healthcare system is being overstretched due to the increasing number of Syrian refugees seeking treatment in the country, as well as, the distorted healthcare insurances’ system. The system ... read more
The Alpha Group’s[1] total assets registered an increase in 2017, in large part due to higher domestic assets. According to Bank Data, the Alpha Group’s total assets rose by 6.6% year-on-year to $232.98B ... read more