Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Lebanon Opportunities

Yesterday’s public sector problems are being supplemented by new ones every day. In parallel, old successes in the private sector are being matched and surpassed each month. This is the environment we live in, and the system that governs our economy. At least for the time being. At a time when politics is more ineffective and debilitated than ever, companies, both big and small, are making inroads and developing. CONFLICT RESOLUTION It looks like the hatchet has been buried between banks and Le Hezb. The shattered glass on the façade of the injured bank has been quickly repaired, and press innuendo directed toward the Governor of the Central Bank has suddenly stopped. A few days later, another conflict arose, this time between a television station and the Speaker of Parliament.…

KATIA HABSHI, GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR FOR GROUP PLUS MEDIA Katia Habshi has been appointed Group Commercial Director for Group Plus Media, Lebanon. Her new job involves handling all media sales strategies and client-related activities. Habshi joined the group more than 12 years ago. She was previously Group Plus Media’s Commercial Director for its advertising concession at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, and for LED screen advertising countrywide. In her new post, Habshi will develop the group’s outdoor media network. She said that they will focus on creativity as a competitive edge for Group Plus Media in a fast paced market. “We believe that the future is not for conventional media, but rather for distinctive, unique, and highly creative offerings, whether outdoor or print,” she said. Habshi holds a degree in…

Demand for industrial food products is witnessing a steady growth in both local and international markets. The product lines that registered the highest growth rate are ethnic food and naturally processed rural food products, which are reputed to be healthier and safer than chemically processed foods. Small producers help supply both of these categories. These microenterprises and institutions have learned how to work professionally and seem well aware of international standards and hygiene norms. HACCP and ISO 9000 series certification are now familiar to agri-women from remote villages and have helped in the production of high quality and diversified products. It is thanks to the training sessions provided by local and international organizations such as Fair Trade Lebanon, EU Delegation, and USAID that small producers have reached this stage. These…

OF HAPPINESS AND IDEAS Farid Chehab French / English 199 pages $30 For fifty years the name of Farid Chehab dominated the MENA’s advertising industry, wherein he created communication for major local, regional, and international brands. At this juncture of his life’s work, he is not just the “founding patriarch” of his agency turned huge group, but also an author, activist, and advisor. THE GUIDING ROD Chehab’s career was driven by the ideal of creating ideas that ultimately bring happiness to all stakeholders. He crystallizes this in the formula: “Idea = Productivity = Happiness”. This is clearly illustrated in the Exotica case study, whereby his contribution helped to evolve the company name from that of garden centers to well-known brand. Of this, he said: “The creative idea thrusts Exotica onto…

The Minister of Finance did well in bringing, again, the issue of public finance to the Council of Ministers, exposing it to public debate. In all likelihood, no ‘expert’ economist, or even layperson, is expecting that this would lead to a radical remedy. Public finance was successively administered by practically each of the country’s powers and political currents (except, perhaps, for a distinct one) for over twenty years of post-Taif governments. It has so far reflected a model of power-wielding practices so deeply rooted that only an all-out revolution could enact change, a revolution which has always been aborted in its infancy by special interests and confessional conflicts, as recently experienced by the latest youth movement. TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE: THE QUESTION THAT YIELDS THE SAME ANSWER Fiscal…

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SOUND BYTES Only one third of financial support promised during Arab summits was received Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri We call for the creation of an Arab fund to support countries hosting Syrian refugees Prime Minister Tammam Salam People are right to complain about Internet speed Boutros Harb, Minister of Telecom We are late in the oil and gas project Gibran Bassil, Minister of Foreign Affairs There will be no solution soon for the electricity problem Arthur Nazarian, Minister of Energy and Water We are being challenged by a web of private interests Wael Abou Faour, Minister of Public Health Syrian competition is not just in terms of labor, but also in business Sejaan Azzi, Minister of Labor Quarries are threatening biodiversity Mohamed Machnouk, Minister of the Environment Dam projects are…

Size is not necessarily a prerequisite to being a successful exporter. A large number of small producers, in a variety of sectors, have proven this. Each company is going it alone, or at best, in a small cluster of specialty-like companies, sometimes with the helping hand of NGOs. Navigating the high seas in small boats is not new to our business community. Since the Phoenician era, traders of this land have been trading with partners both near and far away. The tradition continues.…

Local wine is gaining more recognition in export markets. The sector is also profiting from a growing trend of vineyards in new and varied locations. The share of the international market’s three major players, Spain, Italy, and France, is stabilizing, or even declining at times. Instead, there has been a gradual shift toward relatively small producers in countries such as South Africa, Chile, and the US. Lebanon is not yet a full member of what has been termed the ‘New World’ wine club, but thanks to the dynamic efforts of its small producers, it is gaining ground. Local small wineries have been daring enough to participate in international wine fairs and competitions. This bold step has proved fruitful over the last ten years with some small producers gaining recognition and…

Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website Residential property prices have generally dropped slightly this year. The price drop, not surpassing five percent, occurred mostly in Beirut and Baabda. Prices in Aley, Jbeil, Kesrouan, and Metn remained stable. Jihad Abouchacra, CEO of Re/Max, a brokerage firm newly franchised by Sakr Holding, said: “The real estate sector is able to absorb shocks more than other economic sectors. This is why business is still going with the least possible risk.” An extensive survey conducted by InfoPro Research provides a detailed list of price changes. DON’T WAIT The properties that witnessed the sharpest price drop are luxury developments with high end specifications and large sized units. Abouchacra said that the two main reasons behind the price decline are…

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MEGA RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS WORTH $200 MILLION Two large gated communities are planned for Terbol, near Tripoli, and Damour, south of Beirut. Elmirador de Terbol is a traditional Lebanese village concept by developers Ahmad Alameddine and Mohamad Malass. The 735,000 m2 project is divided into two phases. The infrastructure of the first phase, covering around 300,000 m2, is now complete. “The construction of villas will begin in October and will take around two and a half years to finish,” said Malass. The first phase includes 330 villas, ranging between 220-580 m2 on plots sized between 450-2,000 m2. The first phase includes 50 plots, all of which sold out in a year. Land was sold at $120/m2, slightly higher than when the project first started. “The second phase is still under design…

InfoPro Research took a number of criteria into consideration when preparing the price guide. It calculated the price changes of residential buildings with apartments available for sale in 2016 compared to last year. Areas where the price increase or decrease does not exceed $50 per square meter indicate stability. The guide took into consideration the prices of apartments depending on data provided by developers. Some have fixed prices, others starting prices, and some minimum and maximum prices. For this reason, prices were calculated based on fixed and starting prices, as well as the average between the minimum and maximum prices.…