• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 21, 2020

Gross Public Debt Recorded a 7.6%YOY Uptick to $91.64B in 2019

According to the data released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Lebanese gross public debt increased by an annual 7.6% to settle at $91.64B in 2019. In details, local currency debt (denominated in LBP) ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 20, 2020

Number of Construction Permits Slumped by 13.86% to 11,074 in  2019

The year 2019 proved to be a challenging year for the Lebanese economy, given the economic and financial crisis. The current economic slowdown continues to weigh down on the construction sector. According ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 19, 2020

Quarterly Gross Domestic Product: Q2 2019 Volume of GDP Down annually by 5%

For the first time, CAS provides estimates of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a quarterly basis. According to the recently published report, the sources and methods used to estimate quarterly GDP are ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 18, 2020

Transfers to EDL Dropped yearly by 7.74% to stand at $1B by August 2019

According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL witnessed a yearly drop of 7.74% to reach $ 1B by August 2019. In details “Payments to fuel and oil gas suppliers KPC and SPC” (which grasped 99.74% ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 17, 2020

Number of Real Estate Transactions UP by 27.30%YOY in January 2020

According to the data from the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (LRC), the number of real estate (R.E) transactions which may include one or more realties, rose by a yearly 27.30% to stand ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 12, 2020

Lebanon’s Trade Deficit Ended at $15.50B in 2019, Down by 8.95% y-o-y

Lebanon’s trade deficit narrowed in 2019 to reach $15.50B, down by 8.95% compared to the same period in 2018. The total value of imports lost an annual 3.70% to stand at $19.24B. Also, the value of exports ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 7, 2020

Lebanese Commercial Banks’ Total Assets Retreated yearly by  13.11% to $217B by December 2019

According to Lebanon’s consolidated commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets declined by 13.11% year-on-year (y-o-y), to stand at $216.78B by December 2019. This is largely explained by the fact that ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 6, 2020

Lebanon’s Balance of Payments Deficit at $4.35B by the end of 2019

According to Banque du Liban (BDL), Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) registered a deficit of $4.35B by the end of 2019, compared to a deficit of $4.82B deficit recorded during the same period in 2018. ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 4, 2020

Port of Beirut Revenues Dropped by 14.10%YOY to $198.9M by end of 2019

The figures released by the Port of Beirut (PoB) revealed an annual slump of 14.10% in the Port’s revenues which settled at $198.88M by the end of 2019, compared to last year’s $231.53M. In details, Total ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• February 3, 2020

BDL’s Total Assets Up Monthly by 0.86% to $142.58B in January 2020

The Central Bank’s (BDL’s) balance sheet started the year with a 0.86% monthly uptick in its total assets which stood at $142.58B by January 2020. In details, BDL foreign assets (constituting 25.71% of ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• January 31, 2020

Cement Deliveries Declined by 29.67% to 2.87M tons y-o-y by October 2019 

Cement deliveries dropped by an annual 29.67% by October 2019 to stand at 2.87M tons, compared to 4M tons by October 2018. In addition, the six-month moving average of the number of cement deliveries ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• January 30, 2020

Tourist Spending Down by 1.75% in 2019

According to Global Blue’s Jan to Dec 2019 “Globe Shopper Spending” report for Lebanon, total tourist spending declined yearly by 1.75% and the number of total refund transactions yearly dropped by 5.83%. ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 29, 2020

Audi Bank Negotiating to Sell its Egyptian Subsidiary: Bank Audi SAE   

Bank Audi’s exclusive negotiations with First Abu Dhabi Bank are currently underway, as the former considers selling its Egyptian subsidiary, referred to as Bank Audi SAE. However, discussions are still at ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• January 28, 2020

Beirut’s Hotel Occupancy Rate at 65.20% by November 2019

According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Lebanon’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 65.20% by November 2019, compared to 64.60% during the same period last year. ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 27, 2020

Frail Tourism Activity in Lebanon Post Q4 Developments: Number of Tourists Down by 1.4%YOY in 2019

Q4 2019 witnessed substantial developments in the country which hampered the tourism activity as reflected in our post earlier this week, with the number of airport passengers in 2019 marking its first ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 24, 2020

Audi Bank Calls for an Extraordinary General Assembly in Feb. 2020 to Tackle Cash Contributions, as per BDL’s Circular No.532

The Board of Directors (BoD) of Audi Bank called the shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly meeting scheduled on Thursday February 20th 2020 at 10.30am, at the bank’s headquarters in ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 23, 2020

In 2019, the Number of Airport Passengers Recorded the First Slump in 8 years

The fourth quarter of 2019 was particularly challenging for Lebanon, both externally and internally, given that October ushered in an open-ended eruption of social rioting across the country which ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• January 22, 2020

BDL’s Total Assets Up by 0.43% y-t-d by Mid-Jan 2020 to $141.96B

The Central Bank’s (BDL’s) balance sheet started the year with a 0.43% year-to-date (y-t-d) uptick in its total assets which stood at $141.96B by the mid-Jan of 2020. In details, BDL foreign assets ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 21, 2020

The National Unrest since October Raised the Monthly Inflation Rate to 3.17% in November 2019

The onset of the civic protest across Lebanon on October 17th and the ensuing financial and economic repercussions, namely the imposition of capital controls, contributed to raising inflation further up ... read more

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• Sara Hadchiti
• Economic Digest
• January 20, 2020

Lebanon’s Trade Deficit Ended at $14.81B by November 2019, Down by 7.79% y-o-y

Lebanon’s trade deficit narrowed in the first 11 months of the year to reach $14.81B, down by 7.79% compared to the same period in 2018. In details, the total value of imports lost an annual 2.81% to stand ... read more

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• Rouba Chbeir
• Economic Digest
• January 16, 2020

BLOM Bank Approved Raising its Tier I Capital by $261.94M as per BDL’s Circular No.532

BLOM Bank’s extraordinary General Assembly held on January 14th approved the terms of raising the bank’s Common Equity Tier I by $261.94M through cash contributions (in USD), which is equivalent to 10% of ... read more

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