Custom fees imposed on imported aluminum.

Custom fees on imported aluminum extrusions will be raised 14 to 20 percent depending on the producer, according to a decree issued by the Ministry of Economy and Trade.

The decision will go into effect once it is published in the Official Gazette, and will be enforced for a period of four months.

Aluminum extrusions are sold in various profiles and are used in windows, doors, and other structural applications.

Custom fees will be raised by 20 percent on products imported f...

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Offshore company law to allow single shareholders. Allows foreigners without work permit requirement

Parliament has reduced the minimum requirement to establish an offshore company to a single shareholder. The law used to require at least three shareholders.

Karim Daher, founding partner at HBD-T Law Firm, said that the sole shareholder in an offshore company benefits from the same liability protection that a joint-stock company offers its shareholders. The legal form of offshore companies is unchanged.

According to the new law's explanatory notes, the purpose of the amendment ...

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Transit taxes double for land exports between Syria and Jordan.

Transit fees on land exports through Syria and Jordan have more than doubled, from $800 to $1,800 per truck, following the re-opening of the Nassib-Jaber border crossing between Syria and Jordan two weeks ago, according to the Syndicate of Vegetables and Fruits Importers and Exporters.

Transit fees in Syria have increased by 450 percent, from $150 per truck to $800. Transit fees in Jordan have also increased, from $250 to $400.

Local farmers who wish to export to Jordan are also ...

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Factory profit margin average 15 percent net. Survey by Ministry of Industry

The net profit ratio from sales in the manufacturing sector averaged 15 percent in the past two years, according to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Industry.

The survey covered 1,975 agro-food companies, as well as steel, furniture, and chemical industries, of the country's 4,720 licensed factories.

Expenditures on fuel oil and electricity accounted for five percent of the total, with an average of $140,000 for each factory.

Salaries paid for full time employe...

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Sorting facility for apples in Bcharre.

Cedrine, a company which sorts packs, and markets apples will open this month in Beit Monzer, Bcharre.

The total built-up area of the sorting facility, including cold storage warehouse, is around 2,500 square meters (m2).

Tony Keyrouz, a major shareholder, has invested $1.5 million in the project. USAID funded around 70 percent of the machines' cost.

The project will create around 50 jobs.

The facility has the capacity to sort seven tons of apples per hour. "We wi...

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Lloyd’s to appoint local brokers. Facilitating access to specialist underwriting expertise

Lloyd's underwriters will start to appoint accredited brokers to write reinsurance business, according to the Insurance Control Commission (ICC).

Lloyd's is an international specialist insurance market, where more than 50 insurance companies, 200 registered brokers and a global network of over 4,000 brokers operate.

Local access to this market was previously available through Dubai and Cyprus.

Intermediaries should be licensed by the ICC and should go through the Lloyd's bro...

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Smallest banks have highest growth in assets. Loans to customers surge 59 percent

Consolidated assets of the country's smallest banks soared 31.4 percent year-on-year to $3.19 billion in 2017, mainly driven by a sharp increase in loans, according to Bilanbanques, a report issued by Bankdata Financial Services.

This group of banks, dubbed 'Delta', includes 21 banks with deposits of less than $200 million each. Most of them are investment and specialized banks as well as some local subsidiaries of foreign banks.


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Prior approval for visas to Iraq terminated.

Iraq has terminated the previous approval of visas for Lebanese visitors to the country. Travelers are now required to obtain their visas at the airport upon arrival in Iraq.

Prior to the decision, travelers to Iraq were required to apply for a visa three days in advance at a cost of $40.

Iraqi visitors to Lebanon could obtain their visas upon arrival in Beirut.

"We've been calling for reciprocity with Iraq for several years," said Abdel Wadoud Nsouli, Chairman of the Leb...

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Banks’ capital adequacy continues to rise beyond Basel. Banks need now to focus more on profitability

The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of banks rose to 16.82 percent at the end of 2017 from 16.49 percent a year earlier, according to the 'Lebanon Banking Sector', a report by Bank Audi released in September.

The CAR continues to improve beyond the Basel requirements "reflecting an adequate coverage of the aggregation of credit, market and operational risks," the report said.

In compliance with the Basel requirements, banks are required by the Central Bank to reach a CAR of 14.5 perce...

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Movenpick Hotel sold to local and Saudi investors. Deal upward of $125 million

Saudi-based Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a publicly listed company directed by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has sold 95 percent of the 5-star Mövenpick Hotel Beirut property in Raouche.

The hotel has been sold for more than $125 million.

The property was bought by two companies: Universal Pan and Pine. One of the companies' shareholders are Lebanese and Saudi. Ali Dayekh is one of the shareholders. He had purchased the Four Seasons hotel earlier this year, also from Kingdom Holdin...

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$325 million sought to buy unsold properties. Novel investment scheme being proposed

Developer Namir Cortas and property broker and consultant Massaad Fares are launching the first fundraising round for an investment scheme, or 'platform', dedicated to buying unsold high-end properties in Beirut and its immediate surroundings.

The goal is to raise $325 million by promoting apartments ranging in price between $500,000 and $2 million, through Legacy Central, a company chaired by Fares and Cortas that will act as the investment manager.

"Legacy Central is a sales com...

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Medical innovation for diabetes by Benta. More than $10 million allocated for R&D

Benta Pharma Industries (BPI), a local manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, has achieved promising results of an innovation it's working on with Vanderbilt and Harvard universities.

The innovation enables the implantation of a human pancreas inside a human body without the need for immunosuppressive therapy, which makes the body less likely to reject the transplanted organ.

"Implanting subcutaneous human pancreas technology has been available for a long time, but Benta's innovation i...

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Solidere’s shares soar on prospects of new Cabinet. Eurobond prices improving, their insuring cost falling

Solidere's share prices are surging with rising prospects of a formation of the Cabinet. These positive developments are also affecting Eurobond prices, which are equally driven by improvements in emerging markets.

Solidere's 'A' shares jumped 6.48 percent to close at $7.39 on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday. The 'A' shares of the country's largest real estate company surged 22 percent when compared with their closing price last week.

"The rally on Solidere's stock ...

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Investment in human capital on par with world average. Enhanced health and education crucial to economic productivity

The World Bank Group's Human Capital Index (HCI) shows children who are born today in Lebanon are attaining only 54 percent of their potential productivity due to possible shortcomings in health and education.

The HCI shows the productivity as a future worker of a child born today, and compared with what it could be if he or she had full health and complete high-quality education.

The country's performance is very close to the world average of the index.

HCI is a main elemen...

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Exports to resume through Syria-Jordan land borders. Nassib crossing now open. It will reduce cost and save time

Exporters will be able to resume distribution of agricultural and industrial goods through the Nassib crossing border, between Syria and Jordan. The crossing was reopened after being closed for three years due to turmoil in Syria.

The closure of the Nassib border crossing in 2015 cut off a vital access point to Jordan and Gulf markets.

"There are no decisions that ban the export of local goods through Nassib border, but the process requires time and more organization," said Dany ...

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BLOM to adopt newer SWIFT payment service.

BLOM Bank said it has launched the new SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (SWIFT gpi) service, which provides faster, more traceable and more transparent cross-border payment services.

"Settlement times are now predictable since SWIFT gpi provides tracking information on the status of remittances at all stages. Also, foreign exchange rates and charges applied throughout the payment cycle are now more visible thus providing our customers with increased peace of mind," said Antoine Lawandos, ...

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European Bank launches SME advisory program. EBRD seeking to buy private equity mainly in renewable energy

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has launched the 'Advice for Small Business Program for Lebanon'.

"We already have our first client, a dairy company producing cheese, in Northern Lebanon," said Janet Heckman, EBRD's Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The program targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which comprise about 90 percent of the business activity in the local private sector, she said.

The mu...

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840,000 people paid by Social Security Fund. Government is $1.5 billion in arrears

National Social Security Fund (NSSF) services benefited 840,000 individuals last year.

Hospitalization and medical coverage averaged $835 per capita.

The number of active companies subscribed to the NSSF increased to 57,000 last year, up from 48,000 in 2014.

The number of individuals subscribed reached 615,000, and taxi drivers 50,000.

Sick and maternity fund revenues dropped from $760 million to $577 million from 2016. The deficit reached $126 million in 2017, wi...

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Law for transparency in oil sector published. Energy Ministry to fill in Parliament, Council of Ministers every four months

Parliament has approved a bill on transparency in the oil and gas sector. The bill specifies the duties of all official and business stakeholders in the sector, from the exploration and production phase until operations are terminated.

The scope of accountability in the law covers public sector personnel, whether officials or employees, operators and non-operators, or any company that contractually provides services or products to these companies.

Right holders are required to decl...

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Alfa initiates E-waste recycling project. Project to reduce environmental pollution

Alfa has launched an E-waste project in collaboration with Ericsson to recycle obsolete telecommunications equipment.

Marwan Hayek, Chief Executive Officer of Alfa, said that 460 tons of obsolete equipment were collected, put in 35 containers, and will be shipped by Ericsson to Sweden for recycling.

According to Hayek, this project is part of Alfa's initiative to comply with the requirements of United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Jamal El Jarrah, Minister of ...

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Central Bank’s loans to banks double in nine months.

Outstanding loans granted by the Central Bank (BDL) to the local financial sector more than doubled in the first nine months of 2018 to stand at $27.9 billion at the end September, according to BDL data.

The increase in BDL's loans to the financial sector registered over the nine-month period was $15.1 billion. This compares with an average annual increase of just $2.8 billion over the 2014/2017 period.

The loans to the financial sector mainly consist of credit facilities extended...

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Beirut River Solar Snake tenders second phase. Project to generate seven megawatts of power

Electricité du Liban (EDL) has launched the tender to implement the second phase of the Beirut River Solar Snake (BRSS) project, which is expected to generate seven megawatts (MW) of electricity.

The BRSS aims to build a solar energy farm on top of the Beirut River by covering it with photovoltaic panels. The project was designed to be built over ten phases, each expected to produce one MW.

"The EDL got encouraged by the project and went ahead to build seven megawatts," sai...

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Medical insurance prices up ten percent. Expenses and guaranteed renewability of contracts provokes the increase

The prices of medical insurance policies have increased around ten percent this year. The price rise is due to the implementation of guaranteed renewability of medical insurance contracts (GR), and to the increase in medical expenses, according to Fateh Bekdache, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Arope Insurance.

This GR decision triggered a four percent increase of medical insurance premiums, according to Bekdache.

The decision also affected the underwriting of new medical ins...

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Solar energy prices dropped seven times in seven years. $18 million invested in solar PV market last year

A total of $18 million were invested in solar PV projects last year, according to the 2017 Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Status Report for Lebanon, recently released by UNDP.

By the end of 2017, the PV sector was worth more than $76 million and had reduced 84,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

The number of solar PV projects has increased significantly since the launch of the National Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Action (NEEREA) funding program in 2010, when there w...

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Kassatly Chtaura launched juice brand.

Kassatly Chtaura, a manufacturer of food and beverage products, has launched 'Fruitastic', a line of fruit juice.

Kassatly invested $3.5 million in the new production line, which it imported from Germany.

The company has a production capacity of 35 million bottles per year. "We will start operating at 30 percent of our capacity, and expect to reach full capacity within five years," said Nayef Kassatly, CEO.

Fruitastic juice will be available in several mixed flavors such a...

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Opportunities for women in agriculture in Akkar. Collective work increases production and helps penetrate new markets

Several opportunities for women in Akkar were identified in the International Labour Organization (ILO) report 'Potential Opportunities for Women Economic Empowerment in Akkar in the Potato and Leafy Green Vegetables Value Chains'.

The report surveyed over 50 men and women in the Akkar region, and mapped "gender roles and responsibilities along the value chains, and determined the benefits derived from women's participation."

The first opportunity was spotted in dried leafy greens,...

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Installation of meters on generators begins. Price set at LL410 per kilowatt hour

A government order to install energy meters on private power generators and regulate the price of privately-generated electricity has gone into effect more than a year after it was issued.

The decision, which was jointly issued by the Ministries of Economy and Trade (MoET) and Energy and Water (MoEW) in mid-2017, was roundly opposed by energy generator owners, who threatened to shut down their generators, leaving their customers in the dark, if they were forced to install meters, which me...

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Touch tests commercial 5G.

Touch, the mobile telecom operator, held its first local 5G technology commercial test.

A virtual reality video call was the first element of the test, among two other components. A bandwidth test was run, where 16 high resolution videos were played simultaneously. The last was a speed test, in which 1.5 Gbps of data were transferred.

The 5G network is significantly faster, offering more than 100 times the broadband of 4G, according to Emre Gurkan, Chief Executive Officer at Tou...

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PPP guide for companies published. Provides details on new law provisions, legal and regulatory context

A guide on the implementation of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) was produced in collaboration between Fransabank, Fransa Invest Bank, and the High Council for Privatization and PPP.

The PPP Guide for Private Companies, released in June, helps companies better understand how a company can propose, bid for, and undertake to design, build, operate, manage, or invest in a PPP project.

It also details 18 potential projects, which are a part of the Capital Investment Program, subject ...

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