Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue January 2018
The Central Bank’s (BDL’s) balance sheet posted a 4.3% month-on-month (m-o-m) growth in its Total assets, which reached $123.4B in the first month of 2018. BDL’s Foreign assets (grasping 34.8% of total ... read more
BLOM Bank announced today its un-audited financial results for the 2017 year. Despite a precarious economic and political environment in Lebanon and the region, BLOM Bank managed to record a notable ... read more
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the value of total industrial exports in the first ten months of 2017 contracted by 3.2% year-on-year (y-o-y), to settle at $2.05B by October 2017. ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Bank Audi in 2017 revealed an annual increase of 18.89% in the profits of Q4 2017, which stood at $559M of net profits, “and $464M excluding profits from ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, Lebanon’s trade deficit rose by 1.83% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at $14.71B by Nov. 2017, as exports shrank by an annual 4.82% to stand at $2.6B, while imports ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of BEMO Bank showed an increase of 16.71% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Profits to $18.4M in Q4 2017. In fact, Net interest and other gain on the Fair Value through Profit ... read more
The consolidated financial statements of Byblos Bank revealed a 2.9% annual uptick in Byblos Bank’s profits in the second half of 2017 (H2 2017), which ended the year at $170M. According to the bank’s ... read more
Discover today’s performance of BLOM indices, the closing prices of Lebanese stocks and Eurobonds, as well as the exchange rate of major currencies against the LBP. read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits fell by a yearly 3.48%, to stand at 16,502 permits by December 2017. However, the Construction Area Authorized ... read more
In the past two weeks of January 2018, S&P and Moody’s have renewed their respective assessments and warnings on Lebanon’s economy. In details, Moody’s lowered on January 22nd its Macro Profile for ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the total number of cleared checks slipped by 0.76% to 12.23 million (M), while the total value of checks rose by a marginal 0.28% year-on-year (y-o-y) ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals increased by an annual 9.98% to end the year at 1.86M by December 2017, driven by bigger numbers of tourists coming from Europe, the ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Lebanon’s gross public debt recorded an annual uptick of 6.46%, to reach $79.36B in the first 11 months of 2017. In details, debt in local currency, LBP, ... read more
According to Global Blue, tourist spending in Lebanon rose by a yearly 5.5% by December 2017, compared to end 2016. The rise is mainly attributed to increasing tourist spending by Syrians, Kuwaitis, and ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), average inflation increased by a yearly 4.44% by December 2017, compared to an average deflation rate of 0.78% recorded by Dec. 2016. All sub ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) registered a $1.01 billion deficit by November 2017 compared to a $327.7 million surplus by November 2016. By November 2017, the Central Bank of Lebanon’s Net Foreign ... read more
The resignation of PM Saad Hariri on November 4 shook the Lebanese political scene. As such, depositors either transferred their savings outside the country or exchanged their LBP deposits to USD, amid the ... read more
As mirrored by a contracting PMI, the private sectors’ activity has been deteriorating in the past few years. As such, given the slow economic conditions in Lebanon, the number of loan guarantees plummeted ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets rose by 2.39% on a monthly basis to reach $120.86B in mid-January. In details, foreign assets (constituting 35.20% of total ... read more
Port of Beirut (PoB) recorded a slight 0.43% yearly increase in its revenues to reach $239.98M by December 2017. Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) rose by a yearly rate of 13.76% to ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers (AIA), the total number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars slightly rose by an annual 2.54% to stand at 39,863 by December 2017. In ... read more
According to data from the Lebanese Cadastre Registry, the number of real estate (RE) transactions registered an annual uptick of 13.6%, to reach 95,856 transactions by December 2017. As such, the total ... read more
Today, differences between women and men are still witnessed in the social, political and economic spheres. In order to grasp the existing disparities between genders, the World Economic Forum introduced ... read more
According to the latest data published by Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), personnel costs increased by a yearly 4%, to reach $4.87B by December 2016. In fact, the growth in personnel costs was mainly ... read more
The Tourism sector has long been one of Lebanon’s leading economic sectors, representing a major source of income and employment. The World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest report ranked ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits declined by an annual 2.94%, to settle at 15,278 permits by November 2017. However, the Construction Area ... read more
According to the Lebanese customs, total traded value increased by 7.29% by October 2017. In details, imports increased by 9.40% year on year (y-o-y) by October 2017 to reach $15.6B. Imports processed ... read more
Banque Du Liban’s (BDL) Balance Sheet revealed a 15.57% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in assets to reach $118.25B by December 2017. In details, the value of BDL’s gold reserves which represent 10.12% of ... read more
Cement deliveries decreased by an annual 3.75% by October 2017 to stand at 4.3M tons, compared to 4.4M tons by October 2016. In addition, the six-month moving average of the number of cement deliveries ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals increased by an annual 10.86% to settle at 1.71M by November 2017. In fact, the number of tourists coming from the Arab countries, ... read more
The balance sheet of Lebanon’s commercial banks revealed that total assets grew by 5.62% year-to-date (y-t-d) to reach $215.79B by October 2017 compared to $204.31B in December 2016. The rise can be ... read more
According to the Industrial Information Department of the Ministry of Industry, the total value of industrial exports during the first nine months of the year 2017 amounted to about $1.82B compared to ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) ended the week at 103.08 points, down by a marginal 0.06% when compared to January 25, 2018. As such, the BBI outweighed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which ... read more
During the week ending on January 18th, Broad Money (M3) grew by a weekly LBP 344B ($228M) to reach LBP 207,650B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 added 3.69% and slid by 0.21% since the start of the year. M1 ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market slightly weakened with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.75 -1,514.5 with a mid-price ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by a weekly 0.91% this past week to reach 1,173.86 points on February 2, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization increased from $11.47B to $11.60B, this week. In fact, ... read more
During the week ending on January 11th, Broad Money (M3) decreased by a weekly LBP 639B ($424M) to reach LBP 207,307B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 grew by 3.53% and dropped by 0.38% since the start of ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market steadied with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513 – 1,514 with a mid-price ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) fell by a weekly 0.51% this past week to reach 1,163.25 points on January 26, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization dropped from $11.52B to $11.47B, this week. In fact, an ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) slipped by an incremental 0.18%, to end the week at 103.14 points by January 25, 2018. The JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) lost a weekly 0.13% but still outweighed ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by 0.56% this past week to reach 1,169.16 points on January 19, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization reached $11.52B up from $11.46B last week. In fact, an average ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market steadied with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513 – 1,514 with a mid-price ... read more
During the week ending on January 4th, Broad Money (M3) decreased by a weekly LBP 146B ($97M) to reach LBP 207,944B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 grew by 3.86% and dropped by 0.07% since the start of the ... read more
The Blom Bond Index (BBI) rose by a 0.53% over the week to stand at 103.33 points by January 18, 2018. The BBI slightly outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which registered a ... read more
During the week ending on December 28th, Broad Money (M3) climbed by a weekly LBP 1,294B ($859M) to reach LBP 208,090B ($138B). On a yearly basis, M3 grew by 4.15% and by 4.55% since the start of the ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by 0.11% this past week to reach 1,162.66 points on January 12, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization reached $11.46B up from last week’s $10.58B. In fact, an average ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market slid, with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513 – 1,514 with a mid-price of $/LP ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) rose by a marginal 0.09% over the week to stand at 102.79 points by January 11, 2018. The BBI slightly outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the local currency on the Lebanese forex market steadied, with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514. 5 with a mid-price of ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) recorded a rise of 1.47% in the past two weeks to reach 1,161.43 points on January 5, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization reached $10.58B this, up from $10.43B, on ... read more
The Blom Bond Index (BBI) rose by 1.97% over the past 2 weeks to stand at 102.7 points by January 4, 2018. The BBI outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) which registered a ... read more
During the week ending on December 14, Broad Money (M3) declined by a weekly LBP 380B ($252M) to reach LBP 206,053B ($137M). On a yearly basis, M3 grew by 4.12% and by 3.52% since the start of the year. ... read more
The Egyptian economy witnessed positive developments during the year 2017, thus sending strong messages of hope that the country is on the right path. Improved performance in Egypt’s key sectors, tighter ... read more
Lebanon’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) ended the year with further contraction following the continuous instability on the Lebanese political scene and signaling a worsening activity within the ... read more
The un-audited financial results of the four largest listed Lebanese banks — BLOM, Audi, Byblos, and Bank of Beirut (BoB) — show that they have maintained their steady performance in 2017, ... read more
The Lebanese car market is far from seeing new car registrations more than doubling in one year. Back in 2008, the number of registered new passenger and commercial cars rose by 15,845 to reach 34,543. ... read more
According to the Morningstar, “bond markets remained steady for 2017.” This report chooses to highlight the performance of bonds in the Lebanese, US, and EU markets. It aims to analyze 2017’s distinctive ... read more
Buoyed by an improving economy and strong corporate profits, the dollar’s loss has been a gain for emerging equity markets and the euro. In the Eurozone, the defeat of the right-wing populist Marine ... read more
How much oil and gas? In 2010, the US Geological Survey estimated large undiscovered oil and gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean region. The area in question, the Levant Basin Province delineated by ... read more