Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue June 2017
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the value of total industrial exports fell from $633.9M in the first three months of 2016, to stand at $596.6M by March 2017. However, on a monthly basis, ... read more
According to RAMCO, the sale prices of apartments under construction in Beirut have decreased by 1.5% in 2016, compared to a slower 1.2% and 0.7% drops in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Through its ... read more
According to E&Y’s Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, Beirut’s hotel occupancy rate increased from 57.3% in the first five months of 2016 to 64.7% over the same period in 2017. With Eid al-Fitr coming ... read more
According to a statement released by Midclear, Cedrus Invest Bank increased its capital on 21/06/2017 through the issuance of new nominal ordinary shares. The bank increased its capital from LBP ... read more
According to the balance sheet of Banque du Liban (BdL), total assets remained almost stable at $102.4B in mid-June 2017, as they registered an incremental 0.08% uptick from Dec.2016’s levels. In details, ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 4.61% by May 2017 compared to May 2016. The average costs of “Housing and utilities (water, ... read more
In compliance with the Central Bank’s circular #411 related to cancelling bearer shares in Lebanon, and in reference to the Beirut Stock Exchange’s (BSE’s) list of required action on the process: Ciments ... read more
In November 2016, BLOM Bank S.A.L had signed an agreement to acquire the assets and liabilities of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.) by H1 2017, subject to Banque du ... read more
The activity at the Rafic Hariri International Airport improved slightly by May 2017, as the total number of passengers increased by an annual 1.36% to 2.84M. The number of arrivals to Lebanon registered a ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers (AIA), the number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars declined by an annual 1.81% to stand at 15,022 cars by May 2017. The downtick came ... read more
The statement of comprehensive income of the “Societe Libanaise des Ciments Blancs” revealed an increase in the company’s profit from $2.77M in 2015 to $4.39M in 2016. Revenue dropped from $12.77M in 2015 ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs increased by a yearly 2.8% to $3.63B by September 2016. In details, this rise in personnel costs can mainly be attributed to the 2.7% increase in ... read more
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s World Investment Report 2017, global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 1.55% from $1.77 trillion in 2015 to $1.75 ... read more
The board of directors of HOLCIM (Liban) S.A.L invited the company’s shareholders to attend the annual ordinary general assembly meeting which will be held on Friday the 7th of July 2017. On the meeting’s ... read more
The Port of Beirut’s revenues (PoB) declined in the first five months of 2017 by a yearly 2.94% to $95.89M. Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) rose by 5.64% on an annual basis to ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the number and value of cleared checks declined by 1.08% and 0.20% annually to reach 5.05 million and $28.11B by May 2017, respectively. The number and ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the Lebanese gross public debt reached $76.93B by April 2017, up by 2.7% since year start and by 7.36% compared to April 2016. The gross public debt ... read more
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon’s (BDL) Intermediate Circular # 462, Lebanese banks can benefit from a 100% reduction in reserve requirements against LBP denominated loans offered to finance the ... read more
The board of directors of BLC Bank invites its shareholders to a general assembly at the bank’s headquarters. The meeting will take place on the 29th of June 2017 at 12:00 pm and the key items on the ... read more
The Rafic Hariri International Airport activity rose in the first four months of 2017, where the total number of passengers increased by a yearly 2.54% to 2.2M. The number of arrivals to Lebanon went up by ... read more
The consolidated balance sheet of Lebanon’s commercial banks revealed a 0.89% year-to-date increase (y-t-d) and a 9.69% year-on-year (y-o-y) advance in total assets to $206.13B. Claims on the resident ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of issued loan guarantees reached 262 with a value of $32.1M for the first five months of 2017, compared to 294 guarantees issued, worth $41.3M, over the same period in ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) registered a $233.9M surplus during the first 4 months of the year, compared to a deficit of $899.1B by April 2015. As such, BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFA) recorded a ... read more
On the 5th of June 2017, the ordinary general assembly of Bank BEMO shareholders was held at the bank’s headquarters. The assembly decided to distribute 2016’s dividends, with a total of LBP8.599B ($5.7M), ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 1.11% over the past week to 1,155.92 points. The average weekly traded volume dropped from 187,286 to 118,874 and the average traded value declined from $2.83M to $1.67M. ... 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
During the week ending on the 8th of June 2017, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 296B ($197M) to reach LBP 205,070B ($136B). Moreover, M3 recorded an 8.09% annual increase and a 3.03% rise since the ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) declined by a weekly 0.36% to settle at 105.57 points this week. The performance of emerging bonds continued to be subdued, with the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) merely rose by 0.03% over the past week to 1,168.90 points. The average weekly traded volume dropped from 244,634 to 187,286 while the weekly average value of traded shares ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar remained stable 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 mid-price of $/LP ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) declined by a weekly 0.04% to settle at 105.95 points this week. The performance of emerging bonds was also subdued with the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI) barely ... read more
During the week ending on the 1st of June 2017, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 19B ($13M) to reach LBP 204,774B ($135.84B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 8.08% annual increase and a 2.88% rise since the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar remained stable 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 mid-price of $/LP ... read more
During the week ending on the 25th of May 2017, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 660B ($438M) to reach LBP 204,754B ($135.82B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 8.18% annual increase and a 2.87% rise since the ... read more
Demand for Lebanese Eurobonds maturing in 5 and 10 years grew over the past week as yields slipped, respectively, from 5.74% and 6.63% in the past week to 5.69% and 6.58% this week.The BLOM Bond Index ... read more
The economic contraction of private sector’s activity in Lebanon deepened during the month of May, which is highly associated with the failure of Lebanese politicians in reaching a consensus over a new ... read more
As one of the most competitive economic sectors in Lebanon, the insurance sector has been posting profits, challenging the country’s both economic and political conditions. In fact, the insurance market in ... read more
Abstract By 2016, the Syrian Crisis was in its fifth year. Lebanon recorded climaxing political, economic, and regional vulnerabilities, which constituted a direct impediment to economic growth. During the ... read more
The Alpha Group’s[1] total assets registered a sound growth in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017). According to Bank Data, the Alpha Group’s total assets rose by 7.51% year-on-year to $218.78B. Domestic ... read more