Innholdsfortegnelse for Mar-18 i Lebanon Opportunities

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

More of the shame

Last month was one of grand preparations. Political parties spent their days in behind-the-scenes negotiations to form alliances for the upcoming elections. The government was busy on two fronts. Talks are underway with potential donors who will attend the April Paris conference, and the draft 2018 budget is under serious review after it became evident that the estimated deficit will be too heavy to bear. UNHOLY ALLIANCES Parties from opposite sides held dozens of meetings with one another, crafting alliances tailor-made to each voting district. Basic principles, age-long enmities, and divergence in positions toward key policy matters were all thrown out of the window, paving the way to the rawest form of political opportunism. Even long-held political alliances may be fractured for this occasion – possibly to be resumed after…

More of the shame

MONEY & BANKING

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

MONEY & BANKING

BDL CIRCULAR ON STIMULUS PACKAGE The Central Bank (BDL) has launched a new stimulus program to subsidize housing loans and lending to the productive sectors. BDL said in a new circular that it will subsidize up to $1 billion of loans this year. The loans denominated in lira that will be eligible for the subsidies total LL810 billion ($540 million), with the remaining $460 million consisting of loans denominated in US dollars. The dollar loans are mainly provided to the productive sectors. The lion’s share of the stimulus package consists of housing loans. Housing loans in lira represent 93 percent of the overall eligible loans in the national currency. They account for half of the overall package. The banks also provide subsidized housing loans in dollars to Lebanese expatriates. Interest…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

MARTINE ATALLAH has joined B.A. Bazerji & Sons as Maserati’s Public Relations Manager. She has previously worked in the marketing department of Hyundai at Century Motor Company, and was earlier an Account Manager at TBWA, a public relations agency. Atallah holds a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Saint Joseph University. MARTHA HERAOUI is the new Marketing and Communications Manager at Tabet Group, agents of several international retail brands, including Zadig & Voltaire. Previously, Hraoui was Regional Brand Marketing Executive at Chalhoub Group. She received her master’s degree in fashion and luxury brand management from Instituto Marangoni and a bachelor’s from Saint Joseph University. ELIE GHOBEIRA has been promoted to Marketing Manager at Zaatar W Zeit. He was Brand Manager. Ghobeira holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from…

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Battle of the malls

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Battle of the malls

Competition between malls has intensified. More players have entered the fray. Developers are using every trick in the book to secure their share of the cake as the total market size is barely growing. Introducing diversified services and adopting innovative marketing strategies are some of the tactics being used. They are also adopting ongoing rotation of their brands to maintain the right mix. Tenant relations and increasing the number of visitors are two pillars of sound mall management. CANIBALIZING MARKET SHARES Malls are mushrooming at a higher pace than the increase in population and market size. “Even with the increase in the number of malls, the market has not saturated yet,” said Rony Aoun, Managing Partner at SMAG, a retail consultancy firm. The Greater Beirut area has a mall density…

E-commerce expands foothold

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

E-commerce expands foothold

Online shopping has gained market share, especially among the youth, with websites offering discounts proving to be popular. Local e-tailers (online retailers) have seen their sales increase year after year as the range of items on offer expands. Shoppers are also becoming more confident in using their credit cards thanks to increased transaction security. Here are some of the findings from an InfoPro Research survey conducted last month. DEMOGRAPHICS Shoppers who use e-commerce websites are mostly young. Neelwafurat.com is an online library that sells books published across the Arab World. Salah Chbaro, General Manager of the website, said that its customers range in age between 20 and 40. “The older bracket is familiar with our publishing house, a family business that has been around for more than 20 years,” he…

Income-producing properties

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Income-producing properties

ZOOM One way to benefit from real estate, apart from building and selling residential and commercial units, is to generate consistent long-term revenue. Income-producing properties exist in the local market in four different forms. The first is residential units, mainly single-family homes offered for rent. The second is offices in new buildings or in the secondary market. Retail, the third type, is an up-and-coming investment category. It has many drivers, such as location, visibility, and population density. Industrial property is the fourth, least known, type, but is worth considering. It requires smaller investments on average, it is less management intensive, and has lower operating costs, according to Lara Kanj, head of the real estate unit at Blominvest Bank. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES Offers for residential rentals often come from owners or heirs…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Laptops for all laps

BIG BOYS TOYS Laptop performance is still improving year after year to meet new business and entertainment needs. More development is expected to come. Laptops have proved to be a universal commodity, replacing traditional desktops, even in corporations. But more clients are demanding better value, practicality, and design for their money. Suppliers meet the local requirements with various lines and price ranges. Competition ensures clients are also getting improved after-sale service. STRUCTURED SUPPLY The market is growing steadily. Bassam Obeid, General Manager at 460estore.com, an affiliate of ITG Holding, said that the estimated growth in the laptop market has been 8-10 percent annually during the last five years. Current players benefit from this growth, but also experience fierce competition, both fair and unfair. Obeid said that the gray market is…

Laptops for all laps

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS

Gata Events & Promotions Badaro StreetMobile: (03) 207.380Tel: (01) 322.177info@gata.prowww.gata.pro IFP Hazmieh, Jeser el BashaTel: (05) 959.111Fax: (05) 959.888info@ifpexpo.comwww.ifpexpo.com MICE Lebanon Sami El Soleh, BadaroTel: (01) 976.902Fax: (01) 976.798info@micelebanon.comwww.micelebanon.com Promofair Accaoui Street, AshrafiehTel: (01) 561.600Fax: (01) 561.605info@promofair.com.lbwww.promofair.com.lb Promoteam Mar Mitr, AshrafiehTel: (01) 339.050Fax: (01) 339.060sm@promoteam-ltd.comwww.promoteam-ltd.com…

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

BITS & BYTES

SOUND BYTES We fulfilled a big dream and we are entering a new phase in the oil sector President Michel Aoun We should clone the Governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh Prime Minister Saad Hariri The promising financial, digital knowledge, and oil and gas sectors should be strengthened Patriarch Bechara El Raï The government is the culprit in the 2018 budget’s delay Ali Hassan Khalil, Minister of Finance Corruption will not enter the oil sector like it did in others Salim Jreissati, Minister of Justice In Israeli media and research centers, reports abound on huge quantities of oil and gas in the Golan. We must assume the same exists in the adjacent Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba hills Hassan Nasrallah, Leader of Hezbollah There is no great economic danger.…

BITS & BYTES

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

APRIL 6: CÈDRE (PARIS IV) CONFERENCE The government will seek funding for an infrastructure investment program worth between $16-17 billion at the Cèdre donor conference that will be held on April 6 in Paris, said Nabil El Jisr, Chairman of the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). The Paris IV conference has been renamed Cèdre by its host, French President Emmanuel Macron. The government will propose the first two phases of more than 250 projects at the conference. These two phases are expected to cover a period of eight to ten years. Around 30 percent of the investments will be earmarked for the transportation sector, while water and sewage projects will get another 30 percent. Nearly 20 percent will be allocated to the electricity sector, with the remaining 20 percent…

Anticipated surge in public investment

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Anticipated surge in public investment

COUNTRY REPORT UPTURN IN 2017 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS THREE PERCENT GDP GROWTH RATE FORECASTED FOR 2018 BUDGET DEFICIT LIKELY TO GROW Forecasts for this year’s growth differ depending on each source, fluctuating between two and three percent. According to Bank Audi’s ‘Lebanon Economic Report’ released in early February, the economy is expected to achieve a real growth rate of three percent in 2018. Growth will be mainly driven by improvements in investment, exports, and consumption. The report said the forecast comes amid “a parliamentary election year based on the assumption that the domestic political settlement is likely to survive over the year to come.” Public investment is expected to surge 24 percent with the launch of the state’s new capital investment program (CIP). Private investment is forecast to rise ten percent…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

INITIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A COMPETITIVE MALL

From the conception phase, mall developers should think what their socio-demographic target is: High-income categories with high purchasing power or middle-income categories. Investors study the specifics of their locations before starting their project. Demographics and psychographic studies are commissioned by investors, covering numbers and behavioral factors. The first survey conducted before starting a mall is quantitative, aiming to discover the number of households in the catchment area, their ages, and what the dominant professional occupations are. Qualitative studies are done to understand the shopping habits of these households, and how they spend their money on shopping and entertainment. More sophisticated polls, sometimes within focus groups, are conducted for specific age brackets and genders to ask them about their shopping needs. In the focus groups the people are even shown a…

Personal loans The champ of retail banking

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Personal loans The champ of retail banking

REGISTER The personal loan is the darling of banks as it is one of the most lucrative retail products. This type of loan is, in principle, more risky than a housing loan or car loan, but there is safety in numbers. Risk is alleviated by the large number and great variety of borrowers with small loan amounts. Banks also do their best to reduce the risks. Personal loans are used for a wide variety of purposes, from buying furniture, to paying for travel expenses, or for plastic surgery. Personal loans were growing at an average annual rate of 11 percent over the period 2013-2016. They stood at $6.39 billion at the end of November 2017 after increasing by 8.7 percent compared with the end of 2016, according to Central Bank…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

PROPERTY OR BANK DEPOSITS

Property and bank deposits are not the only investment vehicles, but they are the most prominently used locally. The decision whether to invest in property or put the money in a bank and collect the interest is not that easy to make. Kanj said: “If the investor has a large sum of money which is not needed instantly, it would be better to put it in real estate.” If the investor wants to live from their funds on a monthly basis, a bank deposit would be the best bet. The yield of property leasing is lower compared to interest rates and dividends (as shown in the table), if we do not take into account the appreciation factor over time. After all, choosing income-producing property depends on how much the property…

Spring and summer suits New looks for classic styles

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Spring and summer suits New looks for classic styles

DRESS FOR SUCCESS Fashion designers are like hamsters on a wheel. They go round and round the same pillars of good taste and etiquette for decades. This spring and summer collection brings back styles that go back to the ’40s and ’50s. From double-breasted suits to pinstripes and hounds tooth, international names like Giorgio Armani are refreshing old concepts and bringing them back to the runways. Not all of the edgy collections created by designers work in the local market, where conservative European styles are still the best bet. This season, there will be more mixing and matching in terms of fabrics and colors. CUTS Even though the slim fit suit continues to rule, the six-button double-breasted suit is being brought back, especially for social functions and in the business…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

IN GOOD COMPANY

CONSORTIUM WILL START EXPLORING DISPUTED BLOCK 9 The consortium of Total, ENI and Novatek, which won the tender to explore for oil and gas offshore, will drill an exploratory well in Block 9, 25 kilometers north of the southern border of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to Stephane Michele, Chairman of Exploration and Production at Total Middle East and North Africa. Michele said: “In 2019, we will begin by drilling the first well in Block 4, because we think it is most promising.” The consortium will then move to Block 9 to drill a second well. The exploration and production agreements were officially signed with the winning oil consortium in February. Fuad Krekshi, Executive Vice President of Middle East at ENI, said: “Offshore potential is promising. We hope to…

IN GOOD COMPANY

MATTERS OF FACT

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

MATTERS OF FACT

FOREIGN CURRENCY RESERVES BACK AT OVER $43 BILLION The Central Bank’s foreign currency reserves rebounded following the Prime Minister’s withdrawal of his resignation in early December and they are now back at more than $43 billion, said Riad Salameh, Governor of Banque du Liban (BDL), according to an interview with Bloomberg. Foreign reserves dropped to nearly $41.5 billion after the resignation in November. The recovery showed that confidence is “stronger after the crisis,” Salameh said. He said that the money outflows witnessed in the aftermath of the resignation have “returned gradually, with inflows exceeding outflows since Dec. 10.” The outflows, amounting to $2 billion in November, contributed to a slowdown in deposit growth to 3.8 percent, according to Salameh. In another related financial indicator, the staff of the International Monetary…

Exporters regaining momentum

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Exporters regaining momentum

TRADE The trade deficit reached $12 billion in 2017, up four percent compared to the year before, according to figures published by the Higher Customs Office. If gold and oil derivatives are excluded, there has been a decrease of imports and a slight improvement in exports. The Gulf remains the top export destination and China the main country of import. EXPORTS UP Real industrial and agricultural exports increased four percent last year, compared to 2016, registering $2.2 billion, according to Customs. The ‘real’ export figures exclude gold, pearls, and precious stones, which registered at $586 million compared to $828 million in 2016. They also exclude mineral products (oil derivatives), which reached $48 million last year. As Lebanon is not an oilproducing or refining country, many of these exports are in…

Outlet stores Designer brands at a discount

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Outlet stores Designer brands at a discount

Outlet stores are attracting more customers. Retailers get original designer labels from their local suppliers or from department stores in the US and Europe for low prices. These stores cater to locals who love to wear designer brands but cannot afford them at the regular price. DEMAND IS UP People have become more aware of the presence of outlet stores, especially in the past few years. The concept started to do very well despite the seasonal discounts offered by designer names. This is because the price differentials are still considerable. A $1,000 dress could be offered at $500 in the branded store during a sale period. The same, or equivalent, might be available at the outlet at half this price. “No one wants to buy a shirt for $500 anymore,”…

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Why are banks being targeted?

IN MY OPINION A university student, who is also a researcher, has written a thesis in Paris, under the supervision of the renowned economist Thomas Piketty, about the flagrant income inequality in Lebanon. It is good research which draws our attention to the painful situation of income distribution in the country, characterized by a very high revenue concentration. Around 15 percent of the population earns 57 percent of the overall income, while 50 percent of the population gets ten percent or a little more. The gap widens as more wealth is concentrated in fewer hands. However, the study is not the subject of this article. What sparked this article was its use in a newspaper accompanied by headlines that are completely unrelated to the study, such as ‘The Mini-State of…

Why are banks being targeted?

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

NEW RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

Verdun 2020 Area Close to Goodies Architect Samir Ali Ahmad Developer Daher Group & Al-Rikabi Trading & Contracting Contractor Daher Group & Al-Rikabi Trading & Contracting Delivery Dec. 2020 Apt. Sizes 116 m² Price/m² $3,900-$4,100 Phone (03)-689234 Mazraa 945 Area Ras Al Naba’a, close to Taanayel Market Architect Mneimne & Mneimne Developer Bassatne Contractor Binadar Delivery Dec. 2020 Apt. Sizes 117 m² - 145 m² 170 m² Price/m² Starting at $2,600 Phone (03) 618.701 Optimo Area Sodeco, close to the General Security Architect Mohamad Karnib Developer Khalil & Karnib Contractor Khalil & Karnib Delivery Feb. 2021 Apt. Sizes 120 m² - 165 m² Price/m² Starting at $2,650 Phone (76) 900.013 - (03) 657.567 Al Ghoutani Bldg. Area Ras Beirut, close to Barbar Khazen Police Barraks Architect Ghoutani Group Developer Ghoutani…

NEW RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Hello sunshine!

DRESS FOR SUCCESS BOGGI Double-breasted suit Regular fit Peak lapel Natural stretch wool$1,015 BRIONI Single-breasted suit Slim fit, notched lapel Wool$7,547 Rodeo Drive CANALI Single-breasted suit Slim fit Two-button blazer Macro Prince of Wales$1,876 check CALVIN KLEIN Single-breasted suit Fitted, notched lapel Checked, two buttons Wool$664 ABC CORNELIANI Single-breasted suit Slim fit, notched lapel Printed yarn Linen, virgin wool, and silk$1,855 Aïshti H&M Single-breasted suit Skinny fit, peak lapel Single button Polyester blend$169 HUGO BOSS Double-breasted suit Regular fit with slim cut trousers Peak lapels Virgin wool$1,095 MASSIMO DUTTI An updated classic limited-edition doublebreasted suit Slim fit, pointed lapel Linen and cotton mix$337 JAUNE Single breasted Slim fit Notch lapels, two buttons Wool$319 MAISON BROWN Single breasted Slim Notch lapels, two buttons Wool$398 GS SACOOR BROTHERS Single breasted Slim fit,…

Hello sunshine!

Lebanon Opportunities|Mar-18

Noted laptops in three grades

BIG BOYS TOYS Prices are indicative and include VAT. Actual prices vary depending on Specs and options Entry level $300-$600 ACER ASPIRE ES (ES1-572-330G) Intel core i3 4GB DDR3 RAM 500GB HDD 15.6” Intel graphics card Windows 10 Home$420 HP 15-BS031NE Intel core i3 6006U 4GB RAM 500GB HDD 15.6” Intel HD 520 graphics card DOS$385 LENOVO IP320 Intel i3 6006U 4GB DDR4 RAM 1TB HDD 15.6” FHD Integrated graphics cards DOS$380 ACER S5391 Intel core i7 4GB RAM 256GB SSD 13.3” Intel graphics card Windows 8$555 HP PROBOOK 440 G4 Intel core i5-7200U 4GB DDR4 RAM 500GB HDD 14” Intel HD graphics card DOS$590 ZED AIR H2 Intel Celeron 3GB RAM 500GB HDD 14” Intel graphics card Windows 10$335 LENOVO THINKPAD E470 Intel core i5-7200U 4GB DDR4 RAM 500GB…

Noted laptops in three grades