Black Friday had white results. Sales form at least ten percent of annual turnover

Last weekend retailers engaged in 'Black Friday', an American-inspired occasion that comes a day after Thanksgiving on which special discounts are offered.

Nicolas Chammas, Chairman of the Beirut Traders Association, expects this year's Black Friday sales to reach $200 million.

Local retailers have slightly shifted the concept, extending the occasion over three to four days, rather than just one.

Chammas said that Black Friday became a trend in the U.S. during the recession ...

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Soliver glass factory will reopen next year. $32 million investment to upgrade machines

Soliver, a manufacturer of glass containers, will reopen its factory in Bchamoun in mid-2018.

The company took the decision to shut down its factory last February, and dismissed 250 employees after compensating them. The reason behind the closure, according to Omar Kaddoura, General Manager of Soliver, was because the company was losing its market share, due to the high cost of electricity, especially as the glass industry requires large amounts of energy. Soliver pays more than $3 milli...

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The Central Bank is buying dollars. Impact of crisis was limited and market is stable

The Central Bank (BDL) intervened to support the lira after the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri but the market has reversed and BDL is now buying dollars, BDL Governor Riad Salameh said, according to Reuters.

The turnaround came following Hariri's return to Lebanon and his decision to put his resignation on hold. These developments also triggered a rebound of the Eurobond prices on the global markets. The price of Solidere shares on the Beirut Stock Exchange also recovered after...

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Marlboro to be produced locally. Total production output will double

The Régie Libanaise des Tabacs & Tombacs has signed a partnership agreement with Philip Morris International (PMI), to manufacture Marlboro cigarettes in its factories.

Régie will be producing several kinds of Marlboro including the Medium, Next, Soft, Touch, and Gold. It will start producing Marlboro Medium and Next in December, and the rest once installing the production line in June 2018.

George Hobeika, Secretary General of Régie, said that Régie wi...

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Newly registered firms up 62 percent in a decade. The majority are proprietorship

The number of new companies being registered has increased by 62 percent in the past ten years.

Last year, 8,422 companies were registered, an eight percent decrease from 2015, and about the same as in 2014, according to data compiled by Khalil Masri&Fils.

In 2016, registrations of proprietorship companies topped the list (around 4,000), followed by Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL), or Limited Liability Companies, (2,300), Sociét&ea...

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$1.7 billion swap between Treasury and Central Bank. T-bills redeemed against Eurobonds

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) said it has completed a debt exchange with the Central Bank (BDL) valued at $1.7 billion.

The MoF redeemed treasury bills held by BDL worth LL2,562 billion against new Eurobonds denominated in US dollars of an equivalent value of $1.7 billion.

The MoF said in a statement that through this swap it will extend the maturity of two percent of the public debt by an average of 10.27 years. As a result of the deal the debt composition stands at 40 percent in ...

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Beirut Chamber sees stable exports. Value of goods per tonnage rose sharply

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon reported a small growth in 'real exports' in the first six months of the year compared to 2016. The tonnage of exports however shot up 36 percent.

Real exports exclude mineral products, gold, pearls and precious and semi-precious stones.

In terms of value, the Chamber issued certificates of origin for exports worth $1.4 billion, up four percent from the first six months of last year.

The price of ...

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Interest rates up on deposits in lira. Rates rise to lock in longer terms and for balance sheet window dressing

Banks reached a tacit agreement among themselves following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri to raise interest rates on lira deposits according to Amine Awad, General Manager at BLOM Bank.

The banks offered higher rates on deposits with tenures of more than three months and for large amounts. The intention is to encourage depositors to opt for longer term commitments."It contributes to reducing the mismatch between the tenures of the banks' assets and liabilities,"Awad said.
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Life insurance deals to be reported to Ministry of Finance.

Insurance companies will have to submit to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) information about cash value life insurance contracts issued to persons whose tax residences are in countries that require such reports under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Economy's Insurance Control Commission (ICC).

The CRS, which will be implemented starting from 2018, is the global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. It aim...

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Local TSC supermarket Bankrupt and out of business. Fails to attract three suitors

The local company that owns Kuwait-based supermarket chain Sultan Center (TSC) has been declared bankrupt by the court. TSC is exiting the local supermarket sector.

TSC had over $30 million in commercial debt, a source familiar with the issue, said. The company had been accumulating losses for more than three years, as annual sales did not reach $40 million.

The administration of the supermarket chain was in negotiations with other chains for a possible takeover.

TSC was ap...

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42 companies bid for solar energy farms. 12 companies will be selected

The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) received 42 offers from the 256 companies that expressed their interest in the implementation of solar photovoltaic (PV) farms to generate 180 megawatts (MW) of electrical energy.

The deadline for submitting proposals was on October 30 and only 12 out of the 42 bids will be selected during a public session to pick the best offers delivered to the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW). The winning offers are to be announced in two weeks by a...

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Hasbaya gets round-the clock electricity.

The southern town of Hasbaya has enjoyed electricity 24/7 since the beginning of this month. Hasbaya is the first city in the south and the second in the country to achieve 24-hour electricity, after Zahle.

The situation is due to the work of the Municipality of Hasbaya. The municipal council bought generators producing close to four megawatts (MW) of power to use during electricity blackouts, and placed them outside inhabited areas of the town in lands either owned by the municipality or...

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Olive oil exports double in three years. Saudi Arabia and US top destinations

Exports of olive oil have been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 percent since 2014, according to the Olive Oil Factsheet published by IDAL.

Exports of olive oil reached 10,000 tons last year. They were mainly exported to the Gulf and North America. Around 26 percent of total exports went to Saudi Arabia, and 13 percent to the US.

There are growing export partners such as Australia, Venezuela, and various African countries. Exports to these countries have been...

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Lira is secured by Central Bank capabilities. Riad Salameh: “There is no need to panic”

The governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh affirmed the stability of the lira. He cited financial operations carried out by the Central Bank and the cooperation with the banking sector in his assessment.

"The lira will remain stable and it is based on the existing capabilities of the Central Bank," he said. "The Central Bank has built a monetary model that takes into account the financial and economic data of the country has contingency plans to deal with negative surprises," he said....

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Exporters are penetrating markets with quality. Potential is in added value industries and markets comprising expatriates

Local industrialists and farmers have been successful at exporting their goods to various destinations. Products that find the greatest success are often those that have the highest added value, according to a special report on exporters published in the November issue of Lebanon Opportunities.

Prepared foods and beverages top the list of exports most years, followed by electrical equipment, chemical products, and paper products.

In the past decade exports have witnessed several u...

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Industrial zone at Nahr Ibrahim. $100 million to equip industrial lands and facilities

The Nahr Ibrahim Industrial Region will be launched in early 2018. Sakr Real Estate, a property development company will be developing and managing the project. Construction will be completed in 2021.

The company has finalized the studies and the master plan. Industrialists interested in owning or leasing land in the city will be able to book their site starting from November 16.

Investment in the project is estimated at $100 million, including the cost of the land.

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Bank of Beirut to buy Banque de Crédit National. Go ahead given to start acquisition talks

Bank of Beirut (BoB) said its board has approved a plan for the acquisition of the entire shares of Banque de Crédit National (BCN).

BoB said its board has mandated Salim Sfeir, its chairman, to negotiate with BCN's shareholders and to set the acquisition terms. The chairman was also authorized to sign all related contracts and documents.

BCN's total assets stood at $217 million at the end of 2015. Shareholder equity totaled $28 million. The bank has three branches, two in ...

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