Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Issue May 2017
According to the central bank’s (BDL) balance sheet, total assets slipped by 0.74% year-to-date (YTD) to stand at $101.57B in May 2017 mostly on the back of down ticks recorded in foreign assets and ... read more
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits dropped by a yearly 6.29% to stand at 5,485 permits by April 2017. The Construction Area Authorized by Permits ... read more
Lebanon’s trade deficit stood at $5.39B in the first four months of the year, widening from the $5.36B recorded in the same period last year. Total imports grew by 2.11% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $6.36B, ... read more
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the value of total industrial exports fell to $196.M in February 2017, compared to $222.8M in February 2016. Exports of Machinery and electrical equipment ... read more
On May 26, 2017, Solidere applied for the delisting of its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) from the official list of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The real estate company has also applied for the ... read more
According to the statement of income of Bank Audi’s Egyptian subsidiary, net profit for Q1 2017 fell by 26.54% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $11.74M. The decrease was driven by a 36% annual rise recorded in ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals rose by a yearly 17.45% to 503,805 by April. This rise was partly due to the relatively stable security situation in Lebanon and the ... read more
According to Midclear, BLC Bank S.A.L acquired all the assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of BLC Invest S.A.L. BLC Invest has therefore been scratched off the list of banks in Lebanon and its ... read more
The political and security stability in the country is still favouring higher leisure and tourism activities in the country. According to E&Y’s Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, Beirut’s hotel ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 4.68% by April 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. The average costs of “Housing, water, ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL), the number and value of cleared checks declined by 2.29% and 0.50% annually to reach 3.96 million and $22.44B by April 2017, respectively. The number ... read more
Despite the 12% rise in tourism during the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA) activity deteriorated by March 2017, as the total number of passengers plummeted by a yearly ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars fell by a yearly 2.75% to 11,581 cars by April 2017. This was triggered by the 4.01% ... read more
Activity at the Port of Beirut (PoB) plummeted in the first four months of 2017 as the port’s revenues recorded a yearly decrease of 4.29% to $74.25M. Nonetheless, total container activity including ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets fell by 0.74% to $101.38B in mid- May, compared to $102.14B mid-April. Foreign assets (38.61% of total assets) and gold ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL reached $926M by the end of 2016, substantially lower than the $1.13B transferred over the same period in 2015. This decline mainly resulted from the ... read more
Odeabank, Bank Audi’s Turkish subsidiary, released its financial statements for the first three months of the year, revealing a net profit of $25.96 million compared to $6.31 million in the same period ... read more
According to Kafalat statistics, the number of issued loan guarantees stood at 193 worth $23.6M for the first four months of 2017, compared to 242 guarantees issued, worth $34M, over the same period in ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Lebanese Gross public debt reached $77.17B in Q1 2017, an 8.63% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase, and a 3.05% up tick from the beginning of the year. Debt in ... read more
The central bank’s balance sheet revealed a 0.49% year-to-date (YTD) downtick in total assets to $101.82B in April 2017 on the back of declining foreign assets and securities’ portfolio. In details, ... read more
According to the consolidated balance sheet of Lebanon’s commercial banks, total assets continued to show progress in March 2017 as they grew by 9.64% y-o-y to $205.8B mainly due to BDL’s swap operation ... read more
In March 2017, the BoP managed to register a surplus of $46.3M, with BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFAs) contracting by $1,158.1M and the NFAs of commercial banks surging by a monthly $1,204.4M. In fact, the ... read more
Solidere SAL released its audited financial statements for year 2016 showing a pre-tax profit of $83.1 million, and an an after-tax net profit of $63.1 million. Meanwhile, the consolidated financial ... read more
On the 5th of May 2017, the ordinary general assembly of Bank of Beirut’s (BOB) shareholders was held at the bank’s headquarters. The assembly approved 2016’s accounts and decided to distribute dividends ... read more
A recent study by RAMCO sarl on the office market in Beirut has revealed that 32 office projects are currently under construction in Municipal Beirut. This total represents 191,528 SQM of office space. The ... read more
According to the consolidated financial statements of BLC Bank, the bank’s net profit for the first three months of the year totaled $10.52M up by 14% year-on-year. According the banks’ accompanying ... read more
According to Bank BEMO’s unaudited consolidated financial statements, the bank’s profit for the first quarter of 2017 reached $3.96M compared to $3.7 in the same period of 2016. With net interest income ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourists visiting Lebanon, in Q1 2017, rose by an annual 12.61% to 345,168 by March 2017. The rise was driven by increased number of tourists from the ... read more
According to E&Y’s Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, Beirut’s hotel occupancy rate increased significantly from 55% in Q1 2016 to 62% in Q1 2017. The uprise in Beirut’s hotel occupancy may be ... read more
BLOM Bank announced today its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2017. Despite its difficult operating conditions, BLOM Bank was not deterred from performing at its customary best. Net ... read more
Find below the speech of Mr. Marwan Mikhael, Head of Research at BLOMINVEST BANK, at the “De-Risking & Sanctions: From Awareness to Aversion Role of Financial Regulator and Banks” conference, under the ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) marginally rose by 0.34% in the past week to settle at 105.62 points this week. The Lebanese index outpaced the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), with the latter ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by 0.76% over the past week to 1,164.60 points. The average traded volume and value of shares however decreased from last week’s 1,930,384 shares worth $19.5M to 269,088 ... 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 18th of May 2017, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 276B ($183M) to reach LBP 204,094B ($135B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.94% annual increase and a 2.54% rise since the ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) declined by 0.30% over the past week to 1,155.86 points. The average traded volume and value of shares however increased from last week’s 1,747,590 shares worth $11.3M to ... 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) fell by 0.32% in the past week to settle at 105.26 points this week. The Lebanese index was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which rose by a weekly ... read more
During the week ending on the 4th of May 2017, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 243B ($161M) to reach LBP 203,303B ($135B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.73% annual increase and a 2.14% rise since the start ... read more
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) was down by 0.89% this past week to reach 1,159.31 points. A daily average of 1,747,590 shares worth $11.3M were traded this past week compared to 108,823 shares worth $1.61M ... read more
During the week of 20th to 27th April, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 75B ($49.8M) to reach LBP 203,060B ($134.7B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.72% annual increase and a 2.02% rise since the start of ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) fell by 0.77% in the past week to settle at 105.6 points on May 18, 2017. The Lebanese index was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which rose by an ... 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
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 Stock Index (BSI) was down by 0.75% this past week to reach 1,169.71 points. An average of 108,823 shares worth $1.61M were traded this past week compared to 172,267 shares worth $2.41M last week. ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) fell by 0.28% in the past week to settle at 106.424 points on May 11, 2017. The Lebanese index was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which rose by an ... read more
During the week of 20th to 27th April, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 75B ($49.8M) to reach LBP 203,060B ($134.7B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.72% annual increase and a 2.02% rise since the start of ... 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 Lebanese bourse slightly improved this week as revealed by the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) that increased by 0.45% to end the week at 1,178.59 points. During the same period, the average traded volume and ... read more
04/05/2017 27/04/2017 Change Year to Date BLOM Bond Index (BBI)* 106.73 106.49 0.22% 4.74% Weighted Yield** 5.71% 5.75% -0.61% -14% Weighted Spread*** 411 421 -2.38% -21% 04/05/2017 20/04/2017 Weekly ... read more
During the week ending April 20th, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 398B ($263.8M) to reach LBP 202,985B ($134.65B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.8% annual increase and a 1.98% rise since the start of the ... read more
Business conditions continued to deteriorate across Lebanon’s private sector economy at the start of the second quarter, as highlighted by the headline BLOM Lebanon PMI registering a reading of 47.5 in ... read more
The steel industry, one of the largest industries in the world, is seen as a barometer of the world’s economic health. Steel is essential to the modern world, since it’s used in the construction of ... read more
“Casino gaming has wider social and economic implications. […] The profile and tourism revenues generated by casino gaming can bring major benefits to cities and entire regions.”(PWC Gaming Outlook ... read more
The World Bank recently released their Lebanon Economic Monitor – Spring 2017 Issue. Below are the key views and suggestions the World Bank holds in regards to the Lebanese economy. ... read more
Advertising is one of the most versatile and expanding sectors in the economy. In parallel to the booming of digitalization, the global media is implementing new means to attract people’s attention. With ... read more
Bank Net Profit ($ Million) ROAcE (%) ROAA (%) Cost-to-Income (%) BLOM 112.03 15.45 1.50 34.23 Audi 110.19 13.50 1.02 53.87 Bank of Beirut 50.24 11.01 1.18 44.11 Byblos 28.74 5.77 0.55 56.30 The ... read more