Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue November 2017
In May 2017, hackers attempted to breach the BDL accounts. Since then and following a series of cyberattacks recorded against Lebanon in 2017, BDL governor Riad Salame emphasized that financial ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits declined by an annual 2.9%, to settle at 12,505 permits by September 2017. The Construction Area Authorized by ... read more
According to Ernest and Young’s Hotel Benchmark Survey, yearly occupancy rates in the Arab capitals witnessed a mixed performance by October 2017. However, four and five-star hotels mainly in Beirut and ... read more
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the value of total industrial exports fell by 3.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at $1.65B by August 2017. Similarly, on a monthly basis, Aug. 2017 witnessed ... read more
According to data from the Lebanese Cadastre Registry, the number of real estate (R.E) transactions registered an uptick of 16% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at 78,229 transactions by Oct. 2017. As such, ... read more
By Oct., 2017, Port of Beirut (PoB) revenues slipped by an annual 0.75%, to reach $197.6M. Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) rose by an annual 12.3% to 1.07M twenty-foot equivalent ... read more
Audi Bank’s board of directors invited the holders of its “Preferred H” shares for an ordinary general assembly scheduled to be held at the bank’s headquarters in Audi Plaza, Beirut on December 11, 2017 at ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 4.35% by Oct. 2017, compared to an average deflation rate of 1.42% by Oct. 2016. The average costs of ... read more
The balance sheet of Lebanon’s commercial banks revealed that total assets grew 4.5% year-to-date (y-t-d) and 7.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach $213.4B by Sept. 2017. The rise can be attributed to the ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets rose by 14.78% year-to-date (y-t-d), and stagnated compared to the previous month, to reach $117.45B in mid-November. In ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) registered a $457.2M surplus in September 2017 and a $189.9M deficit during the first 9 months of the year, compared to a surplus of $554.9M by September 2016. As such, ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of loan guarantees dropped from 602 guarantees by October 2016 to 491 guarantees by October 2017. The overall value of the guarantees lost 24.81% year-on-year (y-o-y) to ... read more
In the week of Nov.13, 2017, the Ministry of Finance announced plans to issue $1.7B in Eurobonds, in exchange for an equivalent amount of T-bills from the Central Bank (BDL). The operation would shrink the ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, Lebanon’s trade deficit narrowed by 2.04 % to $11.77B by September 2017, as exports increased by a yearly 4.86% to $2.12B, and imports fell by 2.48% y-o-y to $13.89B. On ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the total number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars slightly rose from 33,317 by October 2016 to 33,596 cars by October 2017. In ... read more
Odeabank, Bank Audi’s Turkish subsidiary, released its financial statements for the first three quarters of the year, revealing a net profit of $59.88 million compared to $29.97 million in the same period ... read more
Four Seasons Hotel, Beirut – November 9, 2017– BLOMINVEST BANK, the multi-award winning investment bank in Lebanon and part of BLOM BANK Group, has launched BRITE, an innovative and free economic ... read more
Cement deliveries contracted by a yearly 2.71% by September 2017, to stand at 3.79M tons compared to 3.89M tons by September 2016. In addition, the six-month moving average of the number of cement ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL rose substantially to stand at LBP 545.66B ($361.96M), compared to LBP 316.89B ($210.21M) This rise mainly resulted from the increase in payments to ... read more
Al Bayan Magazine recently published the 2016 rankings of 379 MENA Insurance companies. The companies’ rankings are based on shareholders’ equity, net profits, written premiums, and total assets. In fact, ... read more
The balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL) observed a growth in total assets that reached $117.99B in October 2017, recording a 15.32% rise from year end. In details, foreign assets, constituting ... read more
The partial recovery of the BLOM Bond Index (BBI) last week did not last, as the BBI slipped by a marginal 0.83% this week, to stand at 99.81 points by Nov.29th. The BBI was outperformed by the JP Morgan ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market remained steady, with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514. 5 with a ... read more
During the week of Nov. 9th – Nov. 16th 2017, Broad Money (M3) fell by a weekly LBP 1,466B ($972M) to reach LBP 206,600B ($137B). Nonetheless, on a yearly basis, M3 grew by 5.88% and by 3.8% since the ... read more
The fourth week after Hariri’s abrupt resignation held another bunch of optimism that was materialized by another progress on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE). As a matter of fact, the suspension of ... read more
Throughout the week ending Nov.24th, markets seem to have absorbed the shock-resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister (PM) Hariri. As such, Eurobonds began to move back to their pre-resignation shock ... read more
Three weeks after Lebanon’s Prime Minister (PM) Saad al-Hariri shocking resignation, the Lebanese stock market started to breathe again during this week’s four trading sessions. In reality, Hariri ... read more
During the week of Nov. 2nd – Nov. 9th 2017, Broad Money (M3) fell by a weekly LBP 490B ($325M) to reach LBP 208,066B ($138B). Nevertheless, M3 rose by a yearly 6.88% and by 4.53% since the start of the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Amid the week’s latest positive political developments following the Prime minister’s shock resignation on Nov.4th and the continuous support of BDL’s elevated foreign assets, which ... read more
The continuing political deadlock as of PM Saad Hariri’s resignation is still weighing down on the Lebanese bourse. As such, the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost a weekly 3.12% to reach the level of 1,094.84 ... read more
During the week of Nov. 2nd – Oct. 26th 2017, Broad Money (M3) rose by a weekly LBP 98B ($65M) to reach LBP 208,556B ($138B). Hence, M3 grew by a yearly 7.39% and by 4.78% since the start of the year. Over ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) continued the plunge started last week, when Prime Minister (PM) Hariri announced his sudden resignation from the KSA on Saturday Nov. 4th 2017. In fact, the BBI slipped by 1.39% ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Despite the recent political shocks in Lebanon following the resignation of the Prime Minister Hariri, BDL’s elevated foreign assets which stood at $43.48B by October 2017, helped ... read more
During the week of 19 – 26 October 2017, Broad Money (M3) declined by a weekly LBP 418B ($277M) to reach LBP 208,458B ($138B). Nonetheless, M3 grew by 7.36% on a year-on-year basis and by 4.73% since ... read more
The shocking resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister (PM) Saad Hariri last Saturday rattled the Beirut Stock Exchange over the past week. The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 3.20% to reach the level of ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Despite the political shocks in Lebanon, BDL’s high foreign assets of $43.48B and the comforting political and economic declarations of political leaders helped reduce the ... read more
Over the past week, the BLOM Bond Index (BBI) plunged by 4.27%, to end the week at 98.01 points. The BBI was outperformed by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which witnessed a slower ... read more
In line with the previous years, Lebanese banks preserved their role as buffers against the recurring headwinds of an uncertain economy. As a matter of fact and despite the existing low growth environment, ... read more
The World Bank recently released a report entitled “The Tech Start up Ecosystem in Beirut” in which it attempts to portray the status of this budding scene in Lebanon. The World Bank’s findings are based ... read more
According to the latest Business Monitor International (BMI) report on Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare in Lebanon, the market will register modest growth in the next few years. BMI believes that, among ... read more
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on December 06, 2017, on page 4. Every national government sustains itself by raising money domestically, through taxes, and by ... read more