Beirut Corniche development to start. Project to add an additional 11,000 m2 of public space

Beirut Municipality has plans to develop and expand Corniche Beirut this year. The cost of the project is estimated at $25 million.

The beach railing along the seaside promenade at Ain Mreisseh will be removed, and the walkway will be made two meters wider along 2.5 km.

A six thousand square meter public area will be added to the current piazza facing Palm Beach Hotel, so that a total area of 16,000 square meters can be dedicated to future celebrations, festivals, cultural and mus...

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$200 million ready for renewable energy. Loans will be offered at subsidized interest rates

Financing of more than $200 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects has become ready for deployment after all the required procedures have been completed, said Pierre El Khoury, Director General of the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC).

The loans could benefit from interest subsidies granted by the Central Bank (BDL).

There is strong demand for the loans and the funds could be completely used up before the end of the current year, Khoury said.

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Banks are promoting digital solutions to cut costs. Smartphones are increasingly incorporating more financial services

The banks are increasingly adopting digital solutions in order to reduce their costs and attract a growing market segment of technology-savvy customers, according to 'Smartphones are reshaping banking', an article published in the June issue of Lebanon Opportunities.

The cost saving comes in terms of money, time, and effort, said Philippe El Hajj, Deputy General Manager and Head of Retail Banking and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Banking at Fransabank.

Many banks are offering ...

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Mets Energy will expand and relocate. Production capacity to increase by half

Mets Energy, a manufacturer of generators and a power solutions provider, will open a factory in the Bchamoun Industrial zone in September.

The current 13,000 square meter (m2) factory will be relocated to a 30,000 m2 facility, to increase production capacity by 50 percent. The annual production capacity of generators will increase from 4,000 to 6,000 units.

Investment in the project is around $5 million. The land will be leased.

"We will relocate to improve production ef...

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Number of payment cards rise six percent to 2.78 million.

The number of payment cards in circulation increased 5.5 percent in 2018 to 2.78 million, mainly driven by the growth in debit cards and prepaid cards, according to Central Bank data.

This compares with a decline of 4.7 percent in 2017 and a slight increase of 0.3 percent in 2016.

Payment cards held by residents represent 97 percent of the total number of payment cards, with the remaining three percent held by non-residents.

Debit cards, accounting for 58 percent of the tota...

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