Public debt up with higher deficits. Gross: $85 billion. Net: $76 billion

Gross public debt increased seven percent year-on-year to $85.1 billion at the end of 2018, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Net total debt rose ten percent to $75.7 billion over the same period. Net total debt is calculated by subtracting from the gross debt, public sector deposits with the Central Bank (BDL) and commercial banks.



"Wider fisca...

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Homegrown movie attendance on the rise. Demand fueled by higher quality films and critical acclaim

The number of moviegoers attending Lebanese films has increased tremendously in the last two years, with the quarter of all movie tickets sold being for these movies.

Attendance of homegrown productions jumped from 230,000 people in 2014, to 430,000 in 2015, 605,000 in 2016, 900,000 in 2017, and 905,000 last year, according to data compiled at various theaters.

Cinemas showed 22 local commercial and art house films in 2018, and the same number in 2017, increasing from 15 films in ...

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Saradar acquires majority stake in Assurex. Insurer to continue operations under own name

Saradar Capital Holding announced the acquisition of 51 percent of Assurex SAL, a local insurance and reinsurance company, owned by Fattal Group.

Fattal Group will remain a shareholder with a 49 percent stake, and Assurex will continue to operate under its own name.

The deal is a result of some 18 months of negotiations, and is estimated to be valued at $10 million.

According to Hubert Fattal, Chairman and CEO of Fattal Group, this partnership aims to deliver a common visi...

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28 ventures qualify for solar farm bids.

The Ministry of Energy and Water has qualified 28 joint ventures to bid for the construction of 12 solar farms across the country.

The renewable energy projects are intended to produce 15 megawatts (MW) each, to yield a total of 180 MW.

These companies were shortlisted after 42 companies expressed interest in participating in the country's first privately-generated solar power bids.

The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation is currently assessing the technical merits of t...

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Hummus snacks factory opens in Aintoura.

Social Enterprise Cluster (SEC), a recently established company, opened early this year a factory that produces packed hummus snacks with bread sticks under the brand name 'HUM'N GO', in Aintoura, Keserwan.

Entrepreneurs Samer Sfeir, Elie Matta and Chantal Saadeh spent more than one year developing their product and expanding its shelf life to four months. "We were the first to pack hummus with bread sticks in a plastic cup," Sfeir said.

The partners invested around $700,000 i...

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Central Bank foreign assets drop $2.3 billion in 2018. Reserve adequacy well above average of similarly-rated countries

The value of foreign assets held by the Central Bank (BDL) dropped $2.3 billion last year to $39.7 billion. They fell a further $448 million this year, to $39.2 billion as of mid-February, according to BDL data.

The decline in foreign assets last year was mainly due to the redemption of three sovereign bonds denominated in foreign currencies totaling $2.23 billion, and to a wave of foreign currency conversions amid mounting uncertainties regarding the formation of a new Cabinet, according...

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Property demand is half of supply. Buyers seeking units of 100 m2 to 150 m2

The number of apartments for sale in Administrative Beirut reached 15,700 units in 2018, according to the real estate article published in the February issue of Lebanon Opportunities.

The article, based on a study done by InfoPro Research, shows that demand in the capital totaled 48 percent, or 7,500 units of what is available for sale on the market. The number of units being sold has been decreasing three years in a row.

In terms of dimensions of units, supply is following demand....

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Real exports grew five percent to $2.3 billion. Drop in exports to most Arab countries

Real exports of industrial and agricultural goods increased five percent last year to $2.3 billion, compared to 2017, according to Customs data.

The real export figures exclude pearls and precious stones, whose total value of exports rose to $648 million in 2018, up from $586 million in 2017. They also exclude mineral products (mostly oil products, mainly re-exported to Syria), which dropped to $31 million from $48 million over the same period.

Most real exports went to Saudi Arabi...

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Second oil licensing bid to be launched. Contracts to be signed by year-end

The Cabinet will launch the second oil and gas licensing round in the next few weeks, according to an article published in the February issue of Lebanon Opportunities.

The Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) will start the prequalification process once the licensing round is launched.

Interested companies will be given a six-month period to submit their commercial and financial bids. The LPA will announce its recommendations in the last quarter of 2019, and the Cabinet will awa...

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UK to provide $115 million for economic development.

The United Kingdom plans to provide more than £90 million ($115 million) to support economic development in Lebanon under the plan presented at the CEDRE donor conference, said U.K. Ambassador Chris Rampling.

Rampling said that his country looks forward to a resilient and vibrant Lebanese economy where more British companies would invest. The commitment of the Lebanese government to quickly go ahead with effective economic reforms would help achieve this goal, he said.

The U.K. ha...

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Informal training initiatives create 1,800 jobs in three years.

Nearly 1,800 jobs and over 1,300 new small businesses were created between 2014 and 2017 as a result of immediate employability non- formal training programs, according to the recently published International Labour Organization (ILO) report, 'Guidelines for Non-Formal Market-Based Skills Training in Lebanon'.

Over 50,000 individuals received non-formal market-based skills training in that period, according to the report. Training was offered through some 32 partners of the Lebanon Crisi...

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Chinese car sales double in 2018. Changan is the best-selling brand

As overall automobile sales decreased 11.5 percent last year, Chinese car sales increased 93 percent in 2018, compared to 2017 according to the Association of Automobile Importers (AIA).

The surge in Chinese car sales catapulted their market share from 0.75 percent in 2017 to three percent in 2018, with 962 Chinese cars sold.

Chinese car sales increased four percent from 2015 till 2017.

"Chinese car brands are gaining market share in other countries also. It is a global tre...

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Saudi Arabia lifts travel advisory. All segments of tourism sector expected to revive

Saudi Arabia has lifted a travel advisory warning its citizens against traveling to Lebanon, said Saudi Arabia's Ambassador Walid al-Bukhari, following a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail.

The decision was made after Saudi Arabia received assurances over the stable security situation in the country.

"Given the fact that the security reasons that called on Saudi Arabia to warn its citizens against traveling to Lebanon no longer exist, and based on the assu...

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$50 million for water projects in south approved.

The South Lebanon Water Establishment (SLWE) plans to launch four projects worth $50 million to enhance water production services, according to its recently-appointed Director General Wassim Daher.

These projects include the establishment of water pumping stations in Nabeh Alman, Aichieh and Zahrani as well as the expansion of Wazzani pumping station.

The new pumping stations will produce at least 25 million cubic meters (m3) combined, and serve a population of over 350,000.

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Non-residents bank deposits surge seven percent in 2018. Overall deposit growth sufficient to finance private and public sectors

Customer deposits in commercial banks grew 2.8 percent last year to $173.2 billion on the back of a jump in non-resident deposits and in foreign currency deposits, according to Central Bank data.

Deposits denominated in foreign currencies, which account for 71 percent of total deposits, increased 5.8 percent. Deposits in the local currency dropped 3.6 percent over the same period.

Deposits by non-resident customers, representing 22 percent of overall deposits, jumped 7.3 percent y...

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Ministry of Finance to pay private hospitals dues.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has approved the payment of arrears owed by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to private hospitals for the year 2018.

The MoF approved a partial payment of the dues to private hospitals, which are owed a total of $320 million for the year 2018, according to Sleiman Haroun, Chairman of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals.

"The MoPH didn't transfer the exchange schedule to the MoF until November. Previously, MoPH used to send the schedules to MoF eve...

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Health ministry cuts ties with private administrators. Decision enters into effect immediately

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has stopped using the services of three third-party administrators (TPAs) which managed claims of hospitalized patients at MoPH expense in private and public hospitals.

The three TPAs are GlobeMed, Nextcare, and MediVisa. Best Assistance was also managing MoPH patient claims until November 2018, when its contract expired.

The MoPH has called on its own inspection doctors to approve patient authorizations instead of the TPAs. The decision goes in...

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Government to implement CEDRE pledges and projects. Promise of 24-hour power supply and public hiring freeze

The new Cabinet plans to start executing the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) which was agreed upon at the CEDRE conference, according to the government's draft policy statement that will be presented soon to Parliament.

The CIP mainly involves infrastructure projects with total investments of $17 billion that will be deployed over eight years after the government approves the projects and sets the priorities. Nearly $5 billion of the total will be financed by the local and foreign private...

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Tyre, Hasbaya, Marjayoun are top property destinations. Southern areas witnessed highest growth in registration

A handful of areas outside of Beirut, some remote and very far, saw the highest property registration on average in the past five years, according to calculations conducted by InfoPro based on public figures published by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (GDLRC).

Tyre showed the highest Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in the 2014-2018 period, recording a 4.4 percent growth in the number of transactions. It was followed by Hasbaya (4.1 percent), and Marjayoun (2.6 ...

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The market is demanding lira signaling start of turnaround. Boost to savings in the national currency

Since the formation of the new Cabinet, U.S. dollars are being offered on the local market to buy liras, according to Governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh.

"This strengthens again the role of the Lebanese currency as a vehicle for savings," Salameh said.

Marwan Barakat, Chief Economist and Head of Research at the Bank Audi group, said that the market is more relaxed as demand for liras is greater than demand for dollars.

The market perception of the country's sovereig...

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Three local digital platforms win World Summit Awards. Winners to participate in global congress of World Summit Awards

The three local digital platforms Scriptr, Proximie, and Tabshoura have won at the World Summit Awards (WSA).

The WSA, which was launched in 2003 in the framework of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society, promotes digital innovations from UN member states. These innovations must have a positive impact on society.

The winners will receive their awards at the WSA's global congress that will be held in Portugal on March 11-13. They will also pitch their innovatio...

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$2.6 billion in assistance sought to support refugees. There will be no funding in the coming budget

The 2019 Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) calls for $2.6 billion for the provision of direct humanitarian assistance and protection of highly vulnerable people in the country.

Around 40 percent of the needs that LCRP covers are for basic assistance, food security and agriculture, according to the LCRP updated 2019 report.

"There will be no funding for the Syrian refugees crisis in the coming budget," said Prime Minister Saad Hariri, on Thursday, when the report was unveiled.
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Eurobonds surge following Cabinet formation. Beirut Stock Exchange remains dormant awaiting clearer vision

Prices of Lebanese dollar-denominated sovereign bonds have surged following the formation of the new Cabinet.

Eurobonds maturing in 2037 rose 2.2 percent to $82 on Feb. 1 compared with their price on the morning of Jan. 31 before the announcement of the Cabinet formation. The 2025 issue of the Eurobonds increased 2.4 percent over the same period.

Eurobond prices, which plunged on Jan.11 following a statement by the Minister of Finance about a possible restructuring of public debt, ...

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