Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Publication March 2017
The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) released Bank of Beirut’s (BOB) statement detailing two block trades of the bank’s shares on the 28th of March, 2017. According to the statement, Mr. Salim Sfeir ... read more
The Beirut Stock Exchange recently released the below official statement on behalf of Bank Audi: “In its meeting held on March 20, 2017, the Board of Directors of Bank Audi sal resolved to propose to the ... read more
According to Kafalat statistics, the number and value of issued loan guarantees stood at 96 and $11.66M by February 2017 compared to 118 guarantees worth $17.76M issued by February 2016. Over the same ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits fell by a yearly 1.67% to reach 2,479 by February 2017. The Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) also ... read more
Global Blue recently released a special report detailing the spending behaviour of tourists from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar visiting Lebanon. According to the report, the purchases, on which ... read more
According to the World Economic Forum, Lebanon ranked 125th out of 127 countries on the 2017 edition of the global Energy Architecture Performance Index (EAPI) issued by the World Economic Forum. The index ... read more
According to a news statement published by the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI), the Lebanese industrial sector has been negatively impacted by the economic slowdown. The statement puts the ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), treasury transfers to EDL (Debt service and reimbursement of gas and fuel purchases) totaled $819.8M in the first eleven months of 2016, 22.3% lower than the ... read more
According to the latest report published by Ernst & Young, Beirut’s hotel occupancy rose to 61.5% during the first two months of 2017 compared to 56.3% registered during the same period last year. This ... read more
Following a $1.5B announcement, Lebanon successfully sold $3.0B of sovereign Eurobonds to repay its maturing foreign currency debt. The debt issue enclosed 3 maturities: $1.25B of 10Y Eurobonds maturing in ... read more
BLOM Bank board of directors invites all shareholders for the annual general assembly that will be held at the bank’s headquarters in Verdun, Beirut on April 7, 2017 at 12 pm. The meeting’s agenda will ... read more
Lebanon’s average consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.6% y-o-y to reach 98.73 by February 2017 as 12 out of its 13 components posted yearly upturns. Inflation during the first two months of the year was ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets dropped by a monthly 0.80% to $102.77B in mid- March, compared to $103.58B by mid-February. Foreign assets (39.91% of total ... read more
According to a released statement by Midclear, Cedrus Invest Bank increased its capital through the issuance of new ordinary shares. The bank increased its capital from LBP 138,309,707,250 ($91.75M) to LBP ... read more
According to the statement of income of Bank Audi’s Egyptian subsidiary, net profit for the year 2016 rose from $32.28M in 2015 to $103.71M in 2016. Net interest income and net income from fees and ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and the North, the number of permits rose by 3.52% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 1,175 during the first month of 2017, versus 1,135 during the same period in 2016. ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers (AIA), the number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars deteriorated during the first 2 months of 2017 by 4.82% year-on-year (y-o-y) to ... read more
According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), the Lebanese gross public debt reached $76.17B in January 2017, a 6.51% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase and a 1.72% uptick from that of December 2016. ... read more
Activity at the Port of Beirut (PoB) witnessed a slight improvement by February 2017 as the port’s revenues recorded a 0.27% yearly increase to $37.25M. Total container activity including transshipment ... read more
According to Lebanon’s commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets increased by 9.76% annually to $204.38B by January 2017. In details, reserves increased by 23.80% y-o-y to $88.52B due to a growth of ... read more
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), Lebanon’s Balance of payments (BoP) recorded a $166.7M deficit in January 2017, compared to a deficit of $718.9M in January 2016, despite a 4.58% yearly rise ... read more
Lebanon’s fiscal deficit widened by 25.09% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $4.94B by the end of 2016. This was attributed to the 9.90% yearly increase in government expenditures outpacing the 3.63% annual rise in ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, trade activity at Lebanon’s main customs offices improved in January 2017, when compared to January 2016. Total imports’ value rose by a yearly 7.36% to $1.60B by January ... read more
The Lebanese economy extended its stay in the tunnel during 2016 despite the election of a president and the formation of a government. These 2 events relaxed the political atmosphere that was negatively ... read more
In this paper, Dr. A. Bolbol, H. Hakimian, and A. Mouradian provide a simple, standard framework to understand savings in post-war Lebanon. In section 2 they look at the relation that ties savings to ... read more
Check out the latest presentation prepared by the Research department of BLOMINVEST Bank on Lebanon’s macroeconomic outlook : Lebanon’s Macroeconomic Outlook read more
Check out the latest presentation prepared by the Research department of BLOMINVEST Bank on Egypt’s macroeconomic outlook : Egypt’s Macroeconomic Outlook read more
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on March 16, 2017, on page 4. Shortly after major political breakthroughs materialized by the end of 2016, all eyes turned on the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank ... read more
During the week ending March 16th, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP 449B ($298M) to reach LBP 201,931B ($134B). Moreover, M3 recorded an 8.01% annual increase and a 1.45% rise since the start of ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) pursued its upturn as it added a weekly 0.55% to 106.05 points. It was also able to beat the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which registered a weekly rise of 0.41% to ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) ended the week at 1,235.82 points, the equivalent of a 0.81% weekly upturn. This was also reflected by an increase in market capitalization from last week’s $10.56B to this ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) ended the week at 1,225.87 points, 0.15% down compared to last week’s 1,227.67. This was also translated by a $15.54M weekly decrease in the market capitalization to ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached ... read more
Another weekly progress was depicted on the Lebanese Eurobonds market this week as reflected by the BLOM Bond Index (BBI) that increased by a weekly 0.54% to 105.47 points; nonetheless, it lagged behind ... read more
During the week ending March 9, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP 24B ($16M) to reach LBP 201,482B ($134B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.97% annual increase and a 1.23% rise since the start of the ... read more
During the week ending March 2, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP651B ($432M) to reach LBP 201,456B ($133B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 8.16% annual increase and a 1.21% rise since the start of the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) ended the week at 1,227.67 points, 0.04% down compared to last week’s 1,228.19. The average traded volume and value were also down by a weekly 31.61% and 30.47% to reach 51,650 ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) increased by a weekly 0.70% to reach 104.90 points; nonetheless, it lagged behind the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which registered a weekly rise of 0.71% to 761.22 ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) ended the week with a 0.24% rise to reach 1,228.19 points. During the week, 75,524 shares worth $573,731 were traded on average compared to 48,061 shares worth $539,489 last ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) fell by a weekly 0.78% to reach 104.19 points; nonetheless, it outperformed the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which also dropped by a weekly 0.91% to 755.85 points. ... read more
During the week ending February 23, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP170B ($113M) to reach LBP 200,808B ($133B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.90% annual increase and a 0.89% rise since the start of the ... read more
Lebanon’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) remained at 47.7 points in February, with the rate of decline slower than 2016’s average of 45.7 points. Even though the PMI maintained January’s 12-month high, ... read more
The Lebanese economy extended its stay in the tunnel during 2016 despite the election of a president and the formation of a government. These 2 events relaxed the political atmosphere that was negatively ... read more
Alpha Banks’ performance in 2016 proves the resilience of the Lebanese banking sector as a whole. Moreover, the latest BANKDATA report revealed that the performance of Alpha Banks in Lebanon maintained a ... read more
In 2016, the registration of new passenger and commercial cars witnessed its first drop since 2011[1]. According to data from the Association of Car Importers in Lebanon (AIA), the number of new registered ... read more