Pikasso acquires Tunisian advertising firm for $1.32 million.

Yellow Spirit, the holding company of outdoor advertising provider Pikasso, and its Tunisian subsidiary, Lawhat Tunisie, have acquired a combined 66.36 percent stake in Maghreb International Publicité (MIP).

Bourse de Tunis, the Tunisian stock exchange, said that the acquired stake consists of nearly 2.92 million shares that were sold by former shareholders, Hédi and Mehdi Cheriha, for one Tunisian dinar a share.

This brings the overall value of the deal to $1.32 mil...

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Araco introduces translucent concrete.

Araco Ready Mix Concrete Company will start producing 'translucent' concrete, a first-of-a-kind in the local market.

The concrete-like material is mixed with fiber optics in order to allow light to pass through. It can be used as a project's façade and can help reduce the need for energy.

Rabih Maarouf, Country Plant Manager at Araco, said: "We realize that demand is low for now, but we wanted to distinguish ourselves and hopefully stimulate the market a bit."

Accor...

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Steeper fines for violating foreign workers' hiring practices.

The Ministry of Labor has announced it will enforce steeper penalties to companies who hire foreign workers without the official work permits or under false titles.

A company violating the law will be fined LL2,500,000 ($1,660), and a violating foreign worker who violates the law will be fined the same amount.

George Iyda, Director General, said that the Ministry previously lowered the fine by LL250,000 if the violating companies paid it within a 15-day time limit.

"We wi...

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Boukhalil turns Tripoli shoppint center into a mall. 15,000 square meter leasing space for 50 stores

Tripoli Square, a mall by supermarket chain Bou Khalil, is scheduled to open in October, in the Tripoli area of Bahsas.

Investment is close to ten million dollars.

The building was previously a commercial center under the name Faubourg de Tripoli and has been under renovation for the new concept.

Lama Bechara, Mall Manager, said: "Bou Khalil supermarket has been in the building for more than ten years, and Chairman Wajdi Bou Khalil has decided to create a mall around it."...

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Saida to reorganize 1.4 million square meter land. Investment estimated at $50 million

Saida Municipality is working on a plan to partition and merge land measuring 1,400,000 m2 on the city's eastern borders. Investment required for the project is estimated at $50 million.

"The land includes agricultural lots that were not being exploited by their owners," said Mohammad Seoudi, Mayor of Saida.

The Municipality will work on establishing roads, infrastructure, and landscaping.

Seoudi said that the land, which is equal to a quarter the size of Saida, will be ...

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Norway funds ILO project to combat child labor.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has launched a project to combat child labor among Syrian refugees. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pledged $728,332 to fund the one-year project.

The project aims at preventing thousands of Syrian and local children from engaging in the worst forms of child labor.

It will work on tremoving hundreds of 5-to-13-year- old children from exploitative work in the agricultural sector and in street-based work. The children will be ...

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Tender for Sidon Hotel launched by Municipality. $20 million investment through BOT contract

The Municipality of Saida will invite tenders to bid in the coming weeks for a Build Operate Transfer contract (BOT) of a hotel on Saida's seafront.

The hotel will be constructed on a 60,000 square meter (m2) plot that is owned by the municipality.

Mohamad Seoudi, the Mayor of Sidon, said that the property will be named Sidon Hotel, which is the same name of a hotel that once stood on the same spot years ago.

Seoudi said that the hotel will include 100 rooms, as well as...

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Cement deliveries surge in first six months. Municipal elections fueled public works

Cement deliveries totaled 2.5 million tons in the first half of the year, increasing by ten percent compared to the same period of 2015, according to Central Bank statistics.

Cement deliveries had dropped 18 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.

Adib Hashem, Commercial Director of Cimenterie Nationale, said that were three reasons for the increase:

Dry weather conditions in the first six months of the year encouraged people to build, ...

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$200 million e-card injection by World Food Program. Refugees and shops to benefit

The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that by the end of 2016 around $209 million will be pumped into electronic cards that are being used by refugees to buy provisions from minimarkets and supermarkets.

In the past six months, around $128 million has been injected into the local economy through the e-card system, according to Edward Johnson, external relations officer at WFP.

"Around 750,000 refugees will benefit this year from these cards," he said.

The allocation of fun...

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4D movie theatre planned for ABC Verdun. Grand Cinemas behind concept

Grand Cinemas, which will operate a cineplex at the new ABC mall in Verdun, is planning a four-dimensional movie theater at the mall.

A 4D movie theater is an entertainment presentation system combining a 3D film with physical effects that occur in the theater in synchronization with the movie.

Effects simulated in a 4D movie may include rain, wind, strobe lights, and vibration.

Seats in 4D venues vibrate or move a few inches according to the movie being shown. Other effec...

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Travel and tourism expected to rise five percent. Sector represents eight percent of GDP

The direct contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP in 2015 was eight percent, totaling $3.6 billion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The contribution reflects internal spending by residents and non-residents, for business and leisure purposes, as well as the Government's 'individual' spending such as cultural or recreational spending.

Forecast to rise by five percent this year, the travel and tourism sector is expected to increase se...

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Chtoura Hospital to open new extension in 2017.

Monaliza International for Medical Services, owner of Chtoura Hospital, will add two buildings to its premises in late 2017.

The ten million dollar expansion will increase the number of beds in the hospital to 150. Both buildings will include three floors and a basement, with a total built-up area of 8,000 square meters (m2).

The first building will have around 50 beds for general medical services. The second will include outpatient clinics, PET scan, a blood bank, kitchen, and l...

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Mandatory environmental requirements for industrialists. Zero percent loans for meeting requirements

All industrial companies are required by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to meet environmental conditions by the end of 2018.

Pollution from industrial facilities represents half of the total pollution, according to MoE. Mohamad Mashnouk, Minister of Environment.

Mashnouk said: "It's time for industrialists to be environmentally committed. They should know that this is an opportunity to have eco-friendly plants, and that it's not a penalty."

He also said that the Ministr...

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Positive half year recorded. Consumption and investments seem to rebound

A survey by Bloomberg forecasts the economy to grow 1.7% in 2016. Although this figure is a decrease from the forecasted 2.2% undertaken at the end of the first quarter, further indicators have also registered good results overall in the first half of the year, according to Bank Audi's half yearly economic report.

VAT receipts saw a seven percent growth. In the real sector, cement deliveries, the value of property sales, and construction permits all witnessed increases, reaching 14.5 per...

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Fish feed factory in Hermel.

Mechanical and Electrical Equipment and Systems (MEES International) will start operating a factory in Hermel this month for the production of fish feed under the brand name 'Dr. Feed.

Malaz Janbay, General Manager of the factory, said: "There is a large demand for local fish feed by farmers who raise trout in the Assi River, especially since farmers import it at high prices."

The total built-up area of the factory is 1,000 square meters (m2). It has capacity to produce around 1...

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Airport taxis to get unified tariff, uniform, and livery.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MoPWT) has come to a decision that will see the organization of taxis at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.

The Ministry has merged airport 'service' with airport 'taxi', under 'airport taxi', based on a number of conditions. These include unifying the tariff and installing fare meters, as well as unifying the livery of all taxis. The conditions also include the formation of a permanent taxi rank, which forms a queuing system for taxis w...

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Three F&B clusters by Venture Group. Total investment to reach $56 million

Venture Group, a development and consulting company, is working on a series of F&B cluster projects that will be located in Jounieh, Jbeil, and Ramlet el Bayda.

Total investment is expected to reach $56 million. Completion date will be in early 2019.

Rabih Saba, Managing Partner, said: "The design phase has already been completed for all three projects and includes outdoor spaces, retail, F&B clusters, and recreation facilities."

The Jounieh project will be have nine floors...

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Alfa launches 4G LTE-Advanced network. Download speed to reach 262 Mbps

Alfa has launched the country's first 4G LTE-Advanced network in collaboration with Nokia.

"The new network enables Alfa to offer significantly higher download speeds of up to 262.5 megabits per second for accessing high-definition video and other data-intensive applications," the two companies said in a statement.

The deployment of Nokia's carrier aggregation (CA) technology will allow Alfa to provide innovative and high-definition services to data subscribers who currently ...

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Energy storage system retail network to expand. Sharp Minds expands its marketing locally and abroad

Sharp Minds, a manufacturer of energy storage systems, will expand its retail network this year both locally and abroad, mainly in Erbil (Iraq), Saudi Arabia, and Africa.

The expansion comes two years after the company first launched its patented product in 2014, following three years of research. Antoine Saab, General Manager, said: "The expansion is for the marketing of our innovation, the 'Energy24' energy storage system."

The system has the ability to store electricity, crea...

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Exports nosedive in first semester. Industrialists call for Government support

Industrial and agricultural 'real' exports decreased 17 percent in the first half of this year, in comparison to the same period of 2015, registering $1.4 billion, according to figures published by Customs.

The 'real' export figures exclude pearls and precious stones which registered $305 million compared to $238 million last year. The figures also exclude mineral products (mostly oil products), which decreased to $95 million from $137 million in the previous year.

Entire exports ...

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Yafi and Jisr to raise $50 million for ICT VC fund. 70 percent to be invested locally

B&Y Venture Partners (BYVP) will complete the closing of an investment fund this month and expects the capital raised to reach $50 million, said Ghaith Yafi, BYVP's Managing Partner.

The fund, named B&Y Division One, has obtained the Central Bank's final approval and will be launched in September. It will invest in the information and communication technology(ICT) sector locally and abroad.

B&Y Division One is the first fund launched and managed by BYVP, a joint venture created ...

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US web company opens local branch.

US-based Inbound Horizons Inc. has launched operations locally. Annual revenues are expected to reach one million dollars in three years' time, said Daniel Sem the company's local CEO.

Inbound Horizons Inc. provides business-to-business solutions and is involved in web development and digital marketing activities. "We serve companies that want to promote their brands," Sem said. The company provides marketing services through utilizing the Google advertising platform and engages in comme...

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Aluminum factory set to open in Bekaa. Investment estimated at $3 million

Establishment George Dib (EGD) will open a weather strips aluminum accessories factory in the Bekaa this month.

Investment in the factory is estimated at three million dollars. It will have a total built-area of 1,200 square meters (m2).

Weather strips are presently imported to Lebanon from China and Europe. The opening of the new factory is thought to be a game changer for the sector here. George Dib, major shareholder, said: "The local market lacks this kind of industry. Saudi A...

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