Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue July 2017
The consolidated financial statements of BEMO Bank showed an increase in the bank’s profit of 28.2% year-on-year (YOY) to $13.32M by September 2017. The higher profit was a result of an increase in the net ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments registered a deficit of $1.12B during the first 6 months of the year compared to a deficit of $1.77B by June 2017. Over the same period, BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFA) ... read more
According to the Lebanese Central Banks’s (BDL) balance sheet, total assets recorded a 6.79% y-t-d growth by July 2017 to reach $109.28B. Foreign assets (38.58% of total assets) and securities portfolio ... read more
The number of construction permits contracted by a yearly 2.24% to stand at 8,510 permits by June 2017, according to the Order of Engineers in Beirut and in Tripoli. In its turn, the Construction Area ... read more
(In US $B ) 30/06/2017 31/12/2016 YOY Total Assets 31.32 29.51 6.13% Loans and Advances to Customers at Amortized Costs 7.69 7.16 7.40% ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Bank Audi, in the first half of 2017, witnessed a yearly rise of 36.52% in profits to $308M and “$213M excluding net profits came from the sale of the Card and ... read more
The Rafic Hariri International Airport activity grew during Jan-June 2017, where the total number of passengers increased by a yearly 3.51% to 3.50M. In details, the number of arrivals to Lebanon went up ... read more
Financial Highlights of BLC Bank: June 2017 (In millions of US$) Jun-17 Dec-16 YTD Total Assets 5,850.28 5,749.49 1.75% ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Byblos Bank revealed a 9.07% drop in profits in the first half of 2017 (H1 2017) since year start. According to Byblos Bank’s official statement, this decline is ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of BEMO Bank showed an increase of 8.24% year-to-date(y-t-d) in profits to $7.90M in the first half of 2017 (H1 2017). In fact, Net interest and other gain on the Fair ... read more
According to the consolidated un-audited balance sheet of Bank of Beirut, total assets rose by a yearly 9.30% to $17.64B as of end June 2017. Net Loans and Advances to Customers at amortized cost ... read more
According to the Ernst and Young (EY) Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, the occupancy rate of Beirut hotels rose from 55.1% in the first half of 2016 (H1 2016) to 61.6% in H1 2017. Room yields in ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals increased by a yearly rate of 14.25% to 826,129 by June. This increase was due to the rise in the number of tourist arrivals from the ... read more
Real estate advisory firm RAMCO recently released its latest price mapping of the residential real estate market within the Municipal limits of the capital Beirut. The prices are those of stock under ... read more
The Port of Beirut’s revenues (PoB) decreased in the first half of 2017 by 3.20% on an annual basis to $116.03M. Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) increased by a yearly rate of ... read more
According to Business News, EuroMena Funds, a manager of venture capital funds specialized in high growth mid-market private companies particularly in the MENA and the Mediterranean countries, will be ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate climbed by a yearly 4.42% in H1 2017 as compared to an average deflation rate of 2.51% in H1 last year. The ... read more
According to Global Blue, tourist spending in Lebanon rose by a yearly 6% in H1 2017, compared to the same period last year. The rise is mainly attributed to an increasing tourist spending by GCC nationals ... read more
The rise of the digital economy in the past few years revitalized markets in the MENA region, particularly markets of the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and KSA. In addition, Banque du Liban’s Circular 331 ... read more
A general assembly was held at the bank’s headquarters on June 29th 2017 and discussed the following key items: The permits of articles 158 and 159 of the Commerce Law and the article 152 of the Code of ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the number and value of cleared checks contracted by 1.88% and 0.41% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at 6.05 million (M) and $33.67 billion (B), ... read more
Banque du Liban’s (BdL) balance sheet revealed that total assets registered a 5.84% uptick to $108.3B in mid-July 2017, compared to Dec.2016’s levels. In details, Foreign Assets (which constituted 39.31% ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs increased by a yearly 6% to $4.03B by October 2016. In details, this rise came on the back of a 7% year-on-year incline in salaries, wages and social ... read more
By Apr. 2017, cement deliveries recorded a yearly decline of 5.2%, to stand at 1.51M tons compared to 1.6M tons in the same period last year. This contraction came in parallel to the slowdown witnessed in ... read more
During the general assembly held on July 7th 2017, the board of directors decided to distribute dividends based on 2016’s financial performance. The cash dividend is equal to LBP 3,600 per share, and will ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of loan guarantees dropped from 368 by June 2016 to 310 guarantees by June 2017. The overall value of the guarantees also plunged from $51.18M by 2016 to reach $38.07M ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars registered a slight drop of 0.51% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 19,648 cars by June 2017. This ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), Lebanon’s gross public debt stood at $76.72B by May 2017, rising by 2.4% since December 2016 and by 7.33% year-on-year (y-o-y). Gross public debt ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, trade activity at Lebanon’s main customs offices improved in May 2017, when compared to May 2016. Total imports’ value rose by a yearly 7.63% to $7.92B by May 2017, and ... read more
Bank Audi’s board of directors invited all holders of common shares to attend an Extraordinary General Meeting that will be held at the bank’s headquarters in Audi Plaza, Bab Idriss, Beirut Commercial ... read more
Bank of Beirut announced that on July 3, 2017 it has sold 225,000 common shares, worth $18.80 each, to Rashid Al-Rashid, one the bank’s board members. As such, the mentioned investor now owns 4.11% of the ... read more
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), total assets of commercial banks increased by 1.26% year-to-date (y-t-d) to reach a value of $206.89B. The increase in total assets was mainly due to the ... read more
Despite the improvement in the tourism sector, Lebanon’s Balance of Payments registered a deficit of $357.6M during the first 5 months of the year compared to a deficit of $1.76B by May 2016. By May 2017, ... read more
According to the balance sheet of Banque du Liban (BdL), total Assets went up from $102.32B in December 2016 to $105.18B by June 2017. In details, Foreign Assets (constituting 39.06% of total BDL Assets) ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals rose by a yearly 12.81% to 649,841 by May. This rise was due to the increase in the number of tourist arrivals from the Arab countries, ... read more
On the 29th of June 2017, the ordinary general assembly of BLC Bank’s shareholders was held at the bank’s headquarters. The assembly approved 2016’s accounts and decided to distribute dividends as per the ... read more
According to the Beirut Stock Exchange, the ordinary general assembly of Ciments Blancs held on the 22 June 2017 took several decisions, of which: The approval of the budget and the profit and loss account ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits slipped by an incremental 0.06% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at 7,133 permits by May 2017. However, the ... read more
By Ali Bolbol, Chief Economist at BLOM Bank and Alexandre Mouradian, Head of Investor Relations at Blominvest Bank Introduction It is still fairly hard in the economics literature to come up with a ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.17% over the past week to 1,152.60 points. The average weekly traded volume fell from 368,203 to 199,756 and the average traded value also decreased from $3.54M to $1.79M. ... read more
Over the past week, the BLOM Bond Index (BBI) rose by 0.16% to settle at 104.66 points, while it was still surpassed by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which gained 0.58%, to end the week ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the Lebanese Pound dropped over the past week on the Lebanese forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25 with a ... read more
During the week of 14 to 20 July 2017, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly of LBP 1,194B ($792M) to reach LBP 207,856B ($137.88B). In addition, M3 recorded a growth rate of 8.96% on a year-on-year basis a ... read more
During the week of 7 to 13 July 2017, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly of LBP 240B ($159M) to reach LBP 206,662B ($137.09B). In addition, M3 recorded a growth rate of 8.38% on a year-on-year basis a ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the Lebanese Pound increased over the past week on the Lebanese forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.5-1,514 with a ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) gained 0.10% during the past week to settle at 104.49 points. Meanwhile, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) slid by 0.04% to end the week at 790.07 points. The ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.17% over the past week to 1,154.58 points. The average weekly traded volume rose from 188,161 to 368,203 and the average traded value increased from $1.45M to $3.54M. The ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the Lebanese Pound rose over the past week on the Lebanese forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25 with a ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) gained 0.42% over the past week to 1,156.60 points. The average weekly traded volume dropped from 278,624 to 188,161, while the average traded value fell from $2.73M to $1.45M. ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) gained 0.52% during the past week to settle at 104.39 points this week. Moreover, the index was outperformed by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which rose by ... read more
During the week of 30 June to 6 July 2017, Broad Money M3 decreased by a weekly of LBP 560B ($ 372M) to reach LBP 206,421B ($ 136.93B). Moreover, M3 recorded a growth rate of 8.31% on a year-on-year basis ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the Lebanese Pound stabilized over the past week on the Lebanese Forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 with a ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) gained 0.03% over the past week to 1,151.81 points. The average weekly traded volume rose from 274,567 to 278,624 while the average traded value fell from $3.07M to $2.73M. The ... read more
During the week of 15 to 22 June, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly of LBP 798B ($529M) to reach LBP 206,200B ($136.78B). In addition, M3 recorded a growth rate of 8.40% on a year -on -year basis and a ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) fell by a marginal 0.17% during the past week to settle at 103.85 points this week. Moreover, the index was outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.39% over the past two weeks to 1,151.41 points. The average weekly traded volume rose from 118,874 to 274,567 and the average traded value also increased from $1.67M to ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) declined by 1.46% during the past 2 weeks to settle at 104.03 points this week. Moreover, the index was outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which ... read more
During the week of 15 to 22 June, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly of LBP 798B ($529M) to reach LBP 206,200B ($136.78B). In addition, M3 recorded a growth rate of 8.40% on a year -on -year basis and a ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the Lebanese Pound stabilized over the past 2 weeks on the Lebanese Forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,514 – ... read more
The private sector’s economic activity remained firmly in contraction area in July, as revealed by Lebanon’s PMI released by Blominvest Bank. BLOM PMI stood well below the 50 mark, which separates economic ... read more
BLOM PMI revealed its lowest reading in eight months in June at 46.1, down from 46.6 in May, indicating a faster fall in overall business activity. The contraction in the private sector’s business ... read more
Net Profit($ mn) ROAcE (%) ROAA(%) Cost-to-Income (%) BLOM 233.53 16.66 1.54 34.36 Audi 212.83* 13.00 0.99 54.47 Byblos 66.27 7.06 0.62 56.60 * Doe not include the exceptional profits of $95.22 ... read more
The report analyzes and sums up the key international, regional, and domestic developments that impacted the performance of Lebanese Eurobonds in the first half of 2017. The points developed in this report ... read more
For more details, click below: Beirut Stock Exchange — H1 2017 Performance Review read more
The Association of Lebanese Car Importers (AIA) maintains its negative market outlook despite the advertising efforts led by car importers. The importers attribute the market’s slump to the difficult ... read more
A shorter version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on June 23, 2016, on page 4. It goes without saying that the industrial sector in Lebanon remains in a challenging ... read more