Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Publication December 2016
According to Midlcear, the Central Bank of Lebanon just approved the transformation of Lucid Investment Corporation from a financial institution into a specialized bank. According to Lucid’s website, “the ... read more
According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), the number and value of cleared checks dropped from 11.42 million and $66.06B by November 2015 to 11.29 million and $62.29B by November 2016. The ... read more
The Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), released by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), is an annual index that measures the health of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in 137 ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, trade activity at Lebanon’s main customs offices improved during the first ten months of the year. Total imports’ value rose by a yearly 7.02% to $14.69B by October 2016, ... read more
According to Business News, Port of Tripoli is expecting the arrival of the first container vessel, Cielo di Agadir, part of the CMA CGM fleet, on Friday. CMA CGM is already one of the top shipping ... read more
Following the approval of the capital markets’ authority on November 14, 2016, BEMO securitization established the securitization investment fund entitled Rymco Drive IV SIF. As such, Midclear issued notes ... read more
Following the approval of the capital markets’ authority on September 26, 2016, BEMO securitization (BSEC) established a securitization investment fund for Dima Healthcare, dubbed “DHC Healthcare 2 SIF”. ... read more
On Dec.8, 2016, Info Pro launched a new product, the Real Estate Survey and Index. The Info Pro Residential Real Estate (RRE) Index tracks price evolutions of residential real estate over time. It uses ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), average consumer prices dropped by 1.14% y-o-y by November 2016 as reflected by the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) which decreased from ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of loan guarantees grew from 621 guarantees by November 2015 to 655 guarantees by November 2016. The overall value of the guarantees decreased by 0.58% y-o-y to reach ... read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets grew by 13.10% year-to-date (y-t-d). however, total assets slightly dropped 0.60% from Mid-November’s 2016 level to reach ... read more
According to Ernest and Young’s Hotel Benchmark Survey, Beirut’s hotel occupancy increased by 8 p.p to stand at 65%, compared to 57% in November 2015. This sharp increase can be justified by the improving ... read more
The board of directors of HOLCIM called on the bank’s shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly meeting which is to be held at Le Royal-Dbayeh on the 13th of February 2017 at 04:00 ... read more
Port of Beirut (PoB) recorded a marginal yearly decline of 0.09% in its revenues to reach $218.61M, compared to $218.81M in the same period of 2015. On a year-to-date basis, total container activity ... read more
The Rafic Hariri International Airport activity rose during the first 11 months of 2016, where the total number of passengers increased by a yearly 7.44% to 7.12M. The number of arrivals to Lebanon went up ... read more
According to the data published by the Lebanese Cadastre Registry, during the first eleven months of this year, the real estate activity witnessed a slight yearly increase. The total number of real estate ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the total number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars dropped 5.42% year- on- year (y-o-y) to 35,976 cars by November 2016. In details, ... read more
Lebanon’s gross public debt registered a yearly rise of 7.91%, to stand at $74.51B by October 2016. In details, debt in local currency, LBP, grasping 61.06% of the total gross public debt, grew by 5.97% ... read more
According to Lebanon’s commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets witnessed an uprise of 7.36% year-to-date (y-t-d) and 9.55% annually to $199.67B by October 2016. On a year-to-date basis, reserves rose ... read more
The board of directors of Bank Audi called on the bank’s shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly meeting which is to be held at the bank’s headquarters on the 21st of December 2016 at ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) a $125.3M deficit during the first 10 months of the year, compared to a deficit of $2.17B by October 2015. As such, BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFA) recorded an increase ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), total transfers to EDL stood at $438.82M by July 2016, 40.4% lower than its level in the same period of 2015. In details, $429.42M are transferred for the ... read more
According to the Lebanese Customs, Lebanon’s trade deficit broadened by 7.92 % to $13.16B by October 2016, as exports increased by a yearly 2.75% to $2.56B, while imports added 7.04% y-o-y to $15.72B. On ... read more
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on December 21, 2016, on page 4. The Lebanese ICT sector holds a lot of economic potential given its fast-growing pace and its vast ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) rose by a weekly 0.12% to reach 101.94 points but was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which increased by a weekly 0.44% to 783.79 points. The yield on the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized over the past week at a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 on Friday. Foreign assets ... read more
During the week ending December 15, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 753B ($502M) to reach LBP 195,935B ($131B). As such, M3 recorded a 6.06% annual increase and a 5.88% rise since the start of the ... read more
The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) recorded during the last week of 2016 a positive performance boosted by stronger banking stocks. In fact, the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) added 0.5% to 1,212.73 points. This was ... read more
Lebanon’s Bourse witnessed a downturn this week just ahead of the Christmas holidays. This was mirrored by a 1.49% weekly slip of the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) to 1,206.64 points. Still, the latest political ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market increased over the past week, going from a mid-price of $/LP 1,514 within the range $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25, to a mid-price of $/LP ... read more
During the week ending December 8, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 317B ($211M) to reach LBP 195,935B ($130B). As such, M3 recorded a 5.88% annual increase and a 5% rise since the start of the year. In ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) registered a 0.22% weekly uptick to reach 101.82 points. Likewise, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index gained a weekly 0.79% to reach 735.53 points. Demand for Lebanese ... read more
Lebanon’s Bourse witnessed a marginal rise during this week’s performance, where the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose 0.03% to reach 1,224.93 points. As such, market capitalization on the Beirut Stock ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market declined over the past week, going from a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514-1,514.5, to a mid-price of $/LP ... read more
During the week ending November 24, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 217B ($144M) to reach LBP 194,787B ($129.21B). As such, M3 recorded a 5.59% annual increase and a 4.39% rise since the start of the ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) registered a 1.58% weekly rise to reach 101.60 points. However, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index dropped by a weekly 0.65% to reach 729.76 points. As such, yields on the ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market remained stable over the past week, at a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 on Friday. Foreign assets ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) recorded a 0.29% weekly rise to reach 100.02 points. Similarly, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index increased by a weekly 1.38% to reach 734.53 points. Hence, yields on the ... read more
Lebanon’s Bourse observed a slight improvement this week, where the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose 0.12% to reach 1,224.62 points. As such, market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) increased ... read more
During the week ending November 24, Broad Money M3 rose by a weekly LBP 217B ($144M) to reach LBP 194,787B ($129.21B). As such, M3 recorded a 5.59% annual increase and a 4.39% rise since the start of the ... read more
Contraction in the private sector’s economy shrank in November to its lowest level since February, with BLOM Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recording a reading of 46.9, still below the neutral mark of 50 ... read more
The Lebanese have once again jumped on the foodie bandwagon. Like so many other popular trends, the street food business is the latest version of a long-standing part of Lebanon’s culinary culture. Today, ... read more
Chicken, part of the large poultry family (duck, turkey goose), is present in almost every household’s or restaurant’s kitchen in Lebanon. In fact, consumption per capita is estimated by some at 30 kg per ... read more
The Alpha Group of Banks, the top 14 Lebanese banks whose deposits exceed $2B, displayed intact yearly progresses in the first three quarters (Q3) of 2016, as their assets reached 413% of GDP. Alpha ... read more
When you’re scrolling down the supermarket aisle looking for water to quench your thirst, you’re most likely going to pick up any water bottle off the shelves. After all, they’re all the same right? The ... read more
Due to its different altitudes, the variety of its plants, and the flowering season Lebanon is one of the few countries where bees forage natural sources of nectar through out the year... read more