Innholdsfortegnelse for Jan-18 i Lebanon Opportunities

The government will launch a Capital Investment Program (CIP) including 250 infrastructure projects early next year. Investment in the projects will reach $16 billion. The CIP will be implemented over ten years, and in two phases. Around 60 percent of the projects under the CIP are national projects, and the remaining are at the mouhafaza level. The CIP is being reviewed by the World Bank to validate projects and their readiness. FUNDS Around 25 percent of the funds will be provided by the private sector. Another 25 percent will be provided by the World Bank through soft loans along with a similar amount from the European Union through European monetary funds, which are expected to allocate an €80 billion ($94.4 billion) fund for neighboring countries. The remaining amounts will be…

The Customs authority, which is under new administration, has put more effort into controlling smuggling, and it is able to reduce the number of incidents. This is good news for the industrial sector, “which is overcoming severe problems,” according to Fady Gemayel, Chairman of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI). Gemayel said that the relevant authorities have also started working on controlling illegal industrial institutions. To increase sales opportunities, ALI will intensify negotiations with the United Nations (UN) so that it will purchase products and consumables required by Syrian refugees from local manufacturers. Ziad Bekdache, Vice Chairman of ALI, said that the UN pledged that local industry will have priority in tenders, if it is able to meet the prices and quantities required. “Meeting the UN’s needs will let industrialists…

“The retail sector will witness an unusually positive year,” according to Rony Aoun, CEO of the Shopping Mall Advisory Group (SMAG). A number of factors are behind this. First, “malls that opened last year had enough time to adjust their offering and kick off the year on a strong note,” Aoun said. Second, we will see more new brands coming into the market. These will give added value to the industry. According to Samar Akkou, the Lebanon Regional Representative of Middle East Council of Shopping Centers, “There will be a proliferation of mass brands, either in terms of size or in terms of new entries.” Tenant changes will also be made in existing malls in order to attract footfall. The general sentiment among retailers is that the year will see…

The media scene will continue to witness financing challenges this year. Local ad budgets will not increase sufficiently to sustain all printed, audiovisual, and online media. Naji Boulos, Managing Director at Memac Ogilvy, said that he expects traditional printed media to continue suffering from the shift to digital media. “Social media will keep on expanding, especially LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat.” Boulos expects television and radio stations to have the same audience in 2018. In light of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May, Boulos said that this national event will give a boost to different media outlets accounting for approximately $20 million of expenditure for media campaigns. He also expects that the recent decision taken by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) allowing pharmaceutical companies to market some of their…

Banks will have a challenging working environment this year. But positive output will dominate, especially that promising developments are beginning to emerge in the country. These include, according to Amine Awad, General Manager at BLOM Bank, financial reforms, the approval of the 2018 budget, which is expected to include a deficit cut, the launch of the gas exploration project and a possible stabilization in Syria. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in its report ‘Economic News-Lebanon’, issued in December, that the banking system remains sound thanks to prudent management and conservative regulation. Depositor commitment will remain strong, motivated by a trust in the financial system and the perceived stability of the fixed exchange rate regime. Freddie Baz, Group Strategy Director, and Vice-chairman at the Bank Audi group, said that…

Hats Elie Khoubbieh has for three generations sold hats, scarves, and other accessories. The first generation had a shop in Souk Ayyas in Beirut Central District. Today, Khoubbieh has three branches in addition to its anchor store in Ashrafieh. It is perhaps one of the few shops specialized in hats. The shop gets its hats from all over Europe. According to Alain Khoubbieh, a third generation Khoubbieh, “An arsenal of good clothes is nothing without a hat and a scarf.” The hat can either make an unforgettable or a regrettable impression. “Though the hat covers a man’s head, it reveals his character,” said David Coggins, a writer and committed hat wearer. The hat should not be worn with reluctance. If not worn with confidence, it will look like an odd…

The country has finally embarked on the journey of oil and gas exploration. Just a few years stand between the Lebanon of today and an oil producing country. These exploration years are supposed to unleash economic benefits on different segments of the private sector, starting in the first year. The following are general, frequently asked questions, and their answers. Why did only one consortium apply for bidding, gathering three companies out of the 51 which initially presented their documents to be prequalified for the licensing round? The price of oil has halved since the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) launched the first prequalification round in 2013. This drove multinational oil companies to cut their new investments by 58 percent. They changed their strategies. Some invested in other places, others…

THE SECURITY SITUATION WILL BE LEBANON WILL GET SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THE ECONOMY IN COMPARISON WITH LAST YEAR WILL BE RELATIONS WITH SAUDI ARABIA WILL BE The poll was conducted during the third week of December by InfoPro Research with a sample of 1,500 respondents, 21 years and older, representative of the national composition in terms of age, gender, geographical residence, and income levels. ECONOMY Wajih Bizri Chairman, International Chamber of Commerce Expectations. It will be a tough year on industrialists, as they will lose a lot of their competitive edge due to the impact of the salary scale and the increase in taxes. Inflation will increase and consumers’ purchasing power will drop, and this will reduce consumption. Demands. We require restructuring in our relations with…

Most developers will focus on delivering their projects and selling whatever apartments are still available, rather than starting new projects. According to InfoPro Research, a total of 11,800 units will be delivered this year after completion of respective projects, a number that is almost stable compared to last year. These units have a built up area of 2.2 million m2, which has spiraled down 15 percent from 2017. These apartments are covered by the recently published Winter/Spring 2018 edition of Properties magazine, covering Beirut, Metn, Kesrouan, Baabda, and Aley. The apartments have an average area per unit of 186 m2, including common amenities, a drop of 17 percent of the average apartment area compared to 2017. This means that the market in 2018 will offer more down-sized apartments. To counter…

Many projects are expected to launch or be delivered this year. The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) is scheduled to hand over several projects, particularly in the water sector. A number of potable water projects in the northern areas of Beirut, and in Jbeil, Akkar, and Minieh will be completed. Batroun, Tripoli, and Chekka will enjoy better wastewater connections. Works will be continued for the construction of Bisri Dam, which will eventually ensure more potable water for the capital and the suburbs. Amer el-Abed, Deputy General Manager of CMC, the company executing the project, said: “Work is ongoing to complete the Wardanieh-Dalhamiyeh tunnel which stretches over ten kilometers.” The tunnel is expected to be completed in February. Works on the Meshref-Khalde tunnel are expected to be finished in July.…

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in cooperation with the Syndicate of Private Hospital Owners will create an application which can provide the Red Cross and similar NGOs with data about available beds in hospitals, especially emergency and intensive care beds. The application will be implemented as a pilot phase in Greater Beirut, to expand at later stages to other regions. “This application will regulate and organize the process of emergency cases and make it more efficient,” said Sleiman Haroun, Chairman of the Syndicate. Another digital initiative was also launched by the MoPH, to be implemented this year. It concerns Barcode Matrix technology to be used on pharmaceutical products. This technology aims at delivering secured medicines to patients. It also helps the Ministry to apply traceability, fight smuggling, and easily…

What happened in 2017 The value of the projects covered in Lebanon Opportunities for the year 2017 amount to more than $22 billion in investments, announced projects, and business transactions. There was too much to cover in the magazine. Construction, represented by real estate development and civil public works, tops the list, accounting for almost 80 percent of the total amount. These projects are announcements, and therefore, with the exception of recorded sales transactions, reflect activity that goes beyond the year 2017.…

Restaurant tenants are requesting spaces in our future projects The Ministry of Tourism is putting effort into boosting conference and exhibition tourism, which guarantees visitors throughout the year. “This initiative will give additional boosts to the sector,” said Pierre Achkar, Chairman of the Association of Tourism Syndicates. There are also large investment opportunities in the sector, mainly in big beach resorts, according to Achkar. “Such investments can attract Scandinavian and Russian tourists,” he said. More tourists from diversified nationalities visited the country last year, and this trend will continue. According to Achkar, similar occupancy rates and revenues per available room are expected for this year. “But we still need double or triple the number of hotel occupied nights to compensate the losses registered over the last five years.” These losses…

The telecom infrastructure is undergoing rapid improvements. The Ministry of Telecommunication (MoT) has initiated plans, alongside its operational arm OGERO, to widen the telecom offerings in the country. This is being done by expanding the fiber optics network along with other enhancements to equipment. The plans will assist private investments in related products and added-value services. According to Fares Kobeissi, Chairman of the Association of Lebanese Software Industry, the fiber optic connections will start to allow the telecom sector to be an economy enabler. High bandwidth connections and local hosting would encourage foreign direct investors to have their businesses run locally. Maroun Chammas, Chairman of IDM, a leading Internet service provider, said that additional positive impact would be witnessed in content-generating startups. New business models are anticipated by Data Services…

Investors on the local stock market hope that efforts to revitalize the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) will begin yielding positive results. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Banking Control Commission, and the banks are well prepared to attain this goal. Firas Safieddine, the CMA’s Vice Chairman, said that the Cabinet’s decree to establish the BSE as a joint stock company is expected to be executed in the first half of 2018. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will submit the plan for converting the BSE from a public institution into a joint stock company to the Cabinet. After that, the Cabinet will name the seven members of the interim board, which will include three members from the CMA whose job will consist of supervising the privatization process. The Cabinet will also…