Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Publication February 2017
The activity at Rafic Hariri International Airport fell by February 2017, as the total number of passengers plunged by a yearly 8.34% to 1M. Nonetheless, the number of arrivals marginally grew by 0.33% ... read more
Bank Audi’s Turkish subsidiary, ODEA Bank, announced its results for the year-end. The Bank’s financial statements revealed an increase in its net profits to $54.10M compared to $13.58M during the same ... read more
In November 2016, Parliament passed the law that states that joint-stock companies are forbidden from issuing bearer shares. Companies who already have bearer shares are compelled to replace them with ... read more
Lebanon’s trade deficit for the first month of 2017 stood at $1.37B, widening from the $1.31B registered in the same month last year. Total imports grew by 7.36% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $1.60B and exports ... read more
The balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank, BDL, posted a marginal 0.36% monthly increase in total assets to $103.94B in February 2017. Foreign assets, constituting 39.84% of total assets, inched up by ... read more
According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, Lebanon’s occupancy rate registered 56.7% in January 2017, up from 55.7% in January 2016. Among the MENA countries, Lebanon ranked ahead ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs increased by a yearly 6% to $3.27B by August 2016. In details, this rise in personnel costs can be attributed to the 7% year-on-year incline in ... read more
According to Midclear, the board of directors of IBL Bank, who convened on 16/05/2016, decided to redeem and cancel the bank’s preferred shares series (2) through re-purchase from shareholders. The number ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number and value of issued loan guarantees stood at 47 and $5.34M in January 2017 compared to 54 guarantees worth $7.93M issued back in January 2016. Over the same period, the ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed signs of inflation in the first month of the year. The CPI rose from 94.45 points in January 2016 to 98.47 ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the total number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars slid by 1.00% year- on- year (y-o-y) to 2,571 cars by January 2017. In details, ... read more
The revenues of the Port of Beirut (PoB) amounted to $19.38M in January 2017 up from $18.37M in January 2016. In details and over the same period, total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) ... read more
In January 2017, the total value of cleared checks slid by a yearly 1.2% to reach $5.71B. In details, the value of checks denominated in Lebanese Pounds increased by 1.4% y-o-y to $1.73B, compared to ... read more
Arqaam Capital issued a buy rating on BLOM Bank with a fair value of $16.6 per share. You can download the full report below: Arqaam Capital – BLOM Q4 16 Earnings Call read more
According to the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank (BdL), total assets grew by 0.83% to $103.58B in mid- February, compared to $102.73B mid-January. Foreign assets (39.51% of total assets) and ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, Lebanon’s gross public debt ended the year with a 6.51% yearly rise to stand at $74.89B by December2016, the equivalent of 144% of GDP. In details, debt in local ... read more
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon, the assets of commercial banks grew by a yearly 9.85% to $204.31B in 2016. Claims on the resident private sector increased by a yearly 6.23% to $51.04B and claims ... read more
Data from the Lebanese Cadastre Registry indicated that the number of real estate (R.E) transactions fell by a 3.04% year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach 5,489 transactions, noting that January witnessed the ... read more
Following the approval of the capital markets’ authority on November 14, 2016, BEMO securitization established the first securitization investment fund for TFH, called TFH SIF. As such, Midclear issued ... read more
Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) sealed the year with a $1.24B surplus, compared to a deficit of $3.35B by December 2015. As such, BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFA) recorded an increase of $3.87B by ... read more
The balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank, BDL, posted a 1.22% monthly increase in total assets to $103.57B in January 2017. Foreign assets, constituting 39.63% of total assets, inched up by 0.82% ... read more
The activity at Rafic Hariri International Airport contracted in January 2017, as the total number of passengers fell by a yearly 1.38% to 539,089. The number of passengers arriving to Lebanon climbed by ... read more
03/03/2017 24/02/2017 % Change BLOM Stock Index* 1,225.25 1,227.70 -0.20% Average Traded Volume 48,061 122,865 -60.88% Average Traded ... read more
02/02/2017 24/02/2017 Change Year to Date BLOM Bond Index (BBI)* 104.99 104.98 0.01% 3.03% Weighted Yield** 5.91% 5.93% -0.34% -11% Weighted Spread*** 431 449 -4.01% -17% 02/03/2017 24/02/2017 Weekly ... read more
02/02/2017 24/02/2017 %Change YTD Euro / LP 1,585.59 1596.890 -0.71% Euro / Dollar 1.0518 1.0593 -0.71% NEER Index** 117.43 117.29 0.12% -0.83% Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the ... read more
During the week ending February 16, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP362B ($240M) to reach LBP 200,638B ($133B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.86% annual increase and a 0.80% rise since the start of the ... read more
During the week ending February 2, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP218B ($144M) to reach LBP 200,276B ($133B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.72% annual increase and a 0.62% rise since the start of the ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) increased by a weekly 0.25% to reach 104.98 points and was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which rose by a weekly 0.74% to 764.12 points. Demand for ... 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 with a 0.61% increase to reach 1,227.70 points. During the week, 122,865 shares worth $1.36M were traded on average compared to 181,687 and $977,319 last week, ... 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
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 with a 0.30% to 1,220.20 points uptick on account of the positive performance of banking and industrial stocks. All of the BSI’s regional peers ended the week on a ... read more
However, in the United States, demand for safe haven assets dropped with the yields on the 5 Year and 10 Year treasuries rising from 1.88% and 2.40% last week to 1.95% and 2.45% this week, respectively. ... read more
During the week ending February 2, Broad Money M3 increased by a weekly LBP873B ($580M) to reach LBP 200,057B ($132.71B). Moreover, M3 recorded a 7.65% annual increase and a 0.51% rise since the start of ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market dropped over the past week, going from $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5 on February 3 to a mid-price ... read more
10/02/2017 03/02/2017 % Change BLOM Stock Index* 1,216.61 1,238.28 -1.75% Average Traded Volume 207,879 188,263 10.42% Average Traded ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) rose by a weekly 0.61% to reach 104.77 points, as demand for medium and long term Lebanese Eurobonds increased. The Lebanese index was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ ... read more
During the week ending January 26, Broad Money M3 contracted by a weekly LBP164B ($110M) to reach LBP 199,184B ($132.13B). However, M3 recorded a 7.14% annual increase and a 0.07% rise since the start of ... read more
In 2016, tourism statistics show signs of respite for the Lebanese tourism sector after six tough years. According to the Ministry of Tourism, in 2016, tourist arrivals hit their highest level since 2011. ... read more
The rate of contraction of Lebanon’s trade deficit that started in 2014 and 2015 failed to continue in 2016, due a faster rise in imports than exports. In details, the deficit has registered a 3.56% yearly ... read more
“A refugee, according to the 1951 Convention [relating to the Status of Refugees], is someone unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for ... read more
Like any other system in the world, Lebanon’s financial sector has its particularities and its vulnerabilities. While it’s good to expose and discuss the risks our financial system can encounter, it is ... read more