Home » LEBANON BRIEF » Publication September 2016
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), BLC Bank will be the first to profit from the MENA SME Risk Sharing Facility, as the IFC and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) will ... read more
According to Business News, after surveying 57 Lebanese municipalities of different sizes and locations, the Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) concluded that computerized municipalities have better ... read more
According to the World Economic Forum report, the competitiveness index is measured by 3 sub-indices: the basic requirement sub-index, the Efficiency enhancers sub-index, and the Innovation and ... read more
Trade activity at Lebanon’s main customs offices witnessed a rise in value during the first 7 months of the year. As stated by the Lebanese Customs, total imports value rose by a yearly 5.19% to $10.84B by ... read more
Lebanon’s gross public debt registered a yearly rise of 6.06%, to reach $73.38B by July 2016. In details, debt in local currency, LBP, grasping around 60.5% of the total gross public debt, witnessed an ... read more
According to Ernest and Young’s Hotel Benchmark Survey, most of the countries in the MENA region observed a downward trend in hotel occupancy rate levels by August 2016. As for Lebanon, although the number ... read more
The board of directors of Bank of Beirut (BOB) Bank called on the bank’s preferred “K” shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly meeting which will be held on the 11th of October 2016 at the ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, Lebanon’s fiscal deficit broadened by 8.52% to reach $1.94B by June 2016, versus a deficit of $1.78B in the same period in 2015. In details, in the first half of the ... read more
According to Kafalat, the number of loan guarantees grew to 475 guarantees by August 2016. The overall value of the guarantees rose 13.47% to reach $65.73M by August 2016 compared to a value of $57.93M ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), average consumer prices, depicted by the average Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined by 2.05% y-o-y by August 2016, where the average CPI fell ... read more
According to Lebanon’s commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets grew 2.66% year-to-date (y-t-d) and 6.12% y-o-y, from $179.91B by July 2015 to $190.93B by July 2016. The main drivers behind the y-t-d ... read more
Port of Beirut (PoB) recorded a 1.13% yearly rise in its revenues by August 2016 to reach $160.54M. Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) grew by an annual 0.78% to 770,205 twenty-foot ... read more
According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the total number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars marginally fell 0.04% year- on- year (y-o-y) to 27,355 cars by August 2016. In ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs rose by a yearly 5.25% to $4.70B by December 2015. The rise in personnel salaries was justified by a 4% year-on-year increase in salaries, wages and ... read more
The board of directors at BLC Bank called on the bank’s shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly meeting to be held on the 22nd of September 2016 in the bank’s headquarters. The meeting’s ... read more
According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), Lebanon has been witnessing a downward trend in both the value and number of cleared checks this year. As such, the value of cleared checks dropped ... read more
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals rose by a yearly 8.61% to 955,813 by July. This rise was due to the increase in the number of tourist arrivals from the Arab countries, ... read more
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon, Lebanon’s Balance of Payments (BoP) witnessed a deficit increase from $1.32B by July 2015 to $1.42B by July 2016. Net Foreign Assets (NFA) of BDL increased $128M, ... read more
According to Business News, two large corporate deals were sealed. As reported by the agency, Tabourian Group used to own a 51% share in Sannine and is now the full owner through the acquisition of the ... read more
According to a survey issued from the partnership between the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Arab banks are witnessing withdrawal of correspondent bank ... read more
According to Midclear, the nominal value of Jammal Trust Bank’s (JTB) shares was increased from LBP 100 to LBP 10,000, following a reverse stock split. Accordingly, the total number of shares dropped from ... read more
The Rafic Hariri International Airport activity rose during August 2016, where the total number of passengers increased by a yearly 8.12% to 5.19M. The number of arrivals to Lebanon went up by 8.84% y-o-y ... read more
According to Standard & Poor’s (S&P) latest report, the outlook on Lebanon was revised from negative to stable, and Lebanon maintained its B-/B rating for its banking sector. The outlook revision ... read more
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on September 22, 2016, on page 4. Lebanon’s half absent electricity remains a major source of social and financial distress for the ... read more
Over the past week, the performance of the Beirut Stock Exchange observed a significant improvement with the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rising 0.55% to 1,155.75 points. This was translated by a $51.92M ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market remained constant over the past 3 weeks , where the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar stood at $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 with ... read more
During the week ending September 15, Broad Money M3 widened by LP 302B ($201M) from September 15 to reach LP 193,635B ($128B). As such, M3 recorded a 5.46% annual growth and a 3.77% rise since the start of ... read more
29/09/2016 22/09/2016 Change Year to Date BLOM Bond Index (BBI)* 103.31 102.68 0.61% -0.77% Weighted Yield** 6.36% 6.51% -2.30% 4% Weighted Spread*** 550 558 -1.43% 28% 29/09/2016 ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market remained constant over the past 2 weeks , where the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar stood at $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 with ... read more
Over the past two weeks, performance of the Beirut Stock Exchange witnessed no change with the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) marginally up ticking by 0.01% to 1,149.42 points. This was translated by a ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI), registering a 0.43% drop from the 8th of September to reach 102.68 points, lagged behind the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which witnessed a 0.14% fall over the past 2 ... read more
During the week ending September 8, Broad Money M3 widened by LP 282B ($187M) from September 1 to reach LP 193,333B ($128B). As such, M3 recorded a 5.41% annual growth and a 3.61% rise since the start of ... read more
Lebanese Forex Market Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized over the past week as the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar steadied at $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 with a mid-price ... read more
The BLOM Bond Index (BBI) registered a 0.24% weekly decline to 103.12 points and by that was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index which recorded a 1.02% weekly uptick to 774.55 points. ... read more
During the week ending August 25, broad Money M3 dropped LP 46B ($30M) from August 18 to reach LP 191,690B ($127B). As such, M3 recorded a 4.76% annual growth and a 2.73% rise since the start of the year. ... read more
The Beirut Stock Exchange, depicted by the BLOM Stock Index (BSI), witnessed an upturn this week, where the index rose 0.16% to 1,145.49 points. Likewise, market capitalization increased to $9.43B, as ... read more
The private sector companies witnessed faster contractions in output and new orders during the month of August. This was reflected by Lebanon’s monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released by ... read more
The banking industry, one of the most resilient sectors in Lebanon, is beginning to show slower growth rates, as the economic slowdown crisis is gradually spreading across the country. Banks are still ... read more
According to the Lebanese Central Bank’s (BDL) new Monetary Overview for 2015, the Lebanese economy has proven to be resilient amid the political and security turbulences locally and regionally. However, ... read more