Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Lebanon Opportunities

Only a few of months ago, government officials were taking the airwaves to reassure worried savers and investors about the sustainability of public finances and that of the lira. All of a sudden the Prime Minister is alluding to the possibility of a Greek scenario, the über Minister of Foreign Affairs has given public servants the choice of a pay cut now or no wages by year end. What led to this deluge of apocalyptic scenarios? INCOMPETENCE Shooting from the hip is the current official plan for economic salvage and reform. From one day to another, measures under consideration jump from shaving off wages, increasing VAT, reducing electricity production, pressuring banks to lower interest rates, increasing taxes levied on interest earned by depositors, just to name a few. What is…

To facilitate the implementation of the aforementioned measures and enable a sustainable public finances reform, the following three bills are proposed: 1. A tax reform bill that aims to increase the efficiency and fairness of the tax system and that evaluates the possibility of adopting a unified tax base. 2. A bill to revise the organizational structure of the government whereby any obsolete and unnecessary institutions, councils, funds and bodies would be abolished. 3. A modern bill that would regulate government tax exemptions, incentives and sponsorship required for the productive sectors, in a way that contributes to the realization of a regionally inclusive, and export and production-driven economic growth. The bill should also strictly penalize any damage brought to the environment, public property, natural and historical resources. 4. To conclude,…

Provided by BUSINESSNEWS.COM.LB by LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES VISA OFFERS FINTECHS EASIER SERVICES AT LOWER COST Visa Inc. will offer new financial technology companies (fintechs) the opportunity to benefit from its payment services in an easier and simple manner and at reduced cost, said Nabil Tabbara, General Manager for Levant at Visa. Visa, an international provider of digital payment services, will provide these benefits through its Fintech Fast-Track Program which it recently launched on the local market. The program is in line with a global trend to simplify and provide easier customer-centric financial services in an innovative way, Tabbara said. Facilitating and simplifying the process for new fintechs allows them to connect to the Visa network to perform payment transactions in a much shorter period and at reduced prices, according to Tabbara.…

RITA KHOURY MATHIEU – COO KHOURY HOME Rita Khoury Mathieu has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at Khoury Home. She was a member of the company’s Executive Committee prior to her appointment. Mathieu is in charge of the retailer’s restructuring and reorganization. “I will continue the restructuring program, turning fixed services into outsourced ones.” Services such as maintenance and installation will be project-based. Mathieu said that showroom managers are now held accountable for the showroom’s expenses. “Managers are getting incentives to lower expenses by 25 percent per month.” The retailer also changed its opening hours to better suit shoppers. The new strategy helped Khoury Home reduce expenses by 33 percent, to $12 million per year. Mathieu holds an Executive MBA from the European business school ESCP Europe and École Supérieure…

The savings business represents two thirds of life insurance contracts, giving the insurers high reserves and access to huge investments. Insurance companies are attempting to encourage more people to create savings plans through different products, mainly savings policies aimed at retirement, education and housing. Insurance companies are competing to provide customers with attractive yield rates on their money. SCANNING FOR DEMAND Around 125,000 new savings policies were issued in 2018. Demand for these policies has been stable in the last two years, according to Joseph Nasnas, Chief Operating Officer at AXA Middle East. Insurance products aimed at savings have achieved around a two percent increase of gross written premiums in 2018 compared to 2017 reaching a value of $339 million. Savings insurance policies account for 65 percent of life insurance…

The media has recently been probing into inflated figures included in the monthly balance sheet of the Central Bank (BDL) for the end of February 2019. The media outlets are entitled to reflect on this matter, but it turned out that these figures were the result of an incorrect accounting entry. The error was corrected in the subsequent balance sheet for March 15. The media hype was exacerbated by the fact that the corrected numbers reached as high as $21.6 billion. TOO MUCH ADO ABOUT AN ERROR The error that inflated the numbers by $21.6 billion was reflected on both sides of the consolidated balance sheet of the banks operating in Lebanon. Since the Central Bank carried out the correction by reducing the balance of the banks’ deposit account with…

Naccache 6 Caza Metn Built Up Area (m2) 57,000 Starting prices ($/m2) N/A Retail size (m2) 50 Commercial size (m2) 50 - 150 Developer Not Appointed Yet 50 RISE Caza Metn Built Up Area (m2) 27,533 Starting prices ($/m2) 2,850 Retail size (m2) 60 - 500 Commercial size (m2) 60 - 500 Developer Rise Properties Aley Shopping Center Caza Aley Built Up Area (m2) 22,500 Starting prices ($/m2) 1,700 Retail size (m2) 100 - 150 Commercial size (m2) 100 - 150 Developer M.D.A. - Maamoun Daoud Amaneddine B. Tower Caza Beirut Built Up Area (m2) 42,772 Starting prices ($/m2) N/A Retail size (m2) 525 Commercial size (m2) 106 - 1,156 Developer A. N. Boukather - Mazda Qubic Square Caza Metn Built Up Area (m2) 14,840 Starting prices ($/m2) 3,700 Retail…

Fashion designers have revived the double breasted suit with new styles and possibilities for spring-summer 2019. This season’s oversized and the relaxed silhouette will make a statement. The classic suit remains a staple in men’s wardrobes, but this season’s style is monochromatic and the palette is in shades of green. MAINSTAYS Calvin Klein, Canali, Corneliani and Ermenegildo Zegna unveiled a wide variety of regular fit suits this season. Simple, plain, two buttons, single-breasted suits still sell best, according to Amer Ejjeh, owner and General Manager at Jawdat Ejjeh & Sons. Designers try to change the look of suits each season, but men prefer classic choices: They want something that is practical and looks sharp. “Slim-silhouetted one-button single breasted suits are also in demand,” Ejjeh said. They look fashionable and sharp…

SOUND BYTES The crisis is difficult but it is not very difficult to solve it. Lebanon will prosper President Michel Aoun Europeans are indebted to Lebanon Greece President Prokopis Pavlopoulos If we don’t take the necessary measures we will face a scenario similar to that of Greece Prime Minister Saad Hariri State employees must accept that they cannot continue this way. It is sad that they will lose a certain percentage of their entitlements. If we do not act, they will lose everything Gebran Bassil, Minister of Foreign Affairs I apologize because I am still optimistic. It’s been years that we hear about an imminent economic collapse. Our economy is resilient and the confidence is there Riad Salameh, Governor of the Central Bank We are in a difficult situation, but…

A series of growth-enabling measures remain to be implemented in the near term, of which I propose the following: 1. Prioritize the introduction of progressive equilibrium to the public finance and approve the budget. This necessitates parliamentary ratification of the draft laws of the final accounts for the period from 1997 to 2017, prior to the presentation of the 2019 state budget. The 2019 budget should clearly indicate the government’s policy direction in the form of priorities and plans. It should also address wasteful and inefficient government spending especially in terms of transfers to private entities, bonuses and special measures that benefit some workers in public administrations and institutions over and above their remuneration and actual overtime. Another imperative is the creation of a unified system for the provision of…

TRIPARTITE SUMMIT WITH CYPRUS, GREECE The Foreign and Tourism Ministers of Lebanon, Cyprus, and Greece held a tripartite summit in Beirut. The meetings resulted in agreements in the fields of tourism and oil and gas. An agreement was signed to enhance cooperation in tourism among countries on the Phoenicians’ Route. “We are working with Cyprus and Lebanon to create touristic packages for tourists who wish to visit the three countries,” said Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos. The Phoenicians’ Route refers to the connection of major nautical routes that were vital to the Phoenicians for trade and cultural communication in the Mediterranean. It includes nine countries: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Spain, and Tunisia. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy and Water agreed with their Cypriot counterparts to…

Name Trak MD Sal Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 / (3,000) Directors Ibrahim Mohamed Fakih (Chairman) (2,070), Elias Frem Abou-Chedid (900), Hauraa Abbas Issa (30) Reg address Berytech Building, Damas Street, Mazraa, Beirut Object General trade, import, export, medical software and consultancy, tourist and economic services, contracting and Commercial Representation Banker BLOM Bank Solicitor Me Amid Mohamed Hamie Auditor Michel Jean Hallak Name Stepping Stone by Leila Garderie Sal Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 / (30) Directors Layla Khodre Fleyfel (Chairman) (12), Maher Chafic Turk (09), Maya Chafic Turk (09) Reg address Lot No. 4537 Ramlet El-Bayda, Beirut Object General trade, import, export, engineering, technical consultancy, financial, engineering, contracting, management of schools, institutes and nursery Banker Bankmed Solicitor Me Raed Abdelrahman Kebbeh Auditor Wissam Fouad Slim Name Bakala Sal Capital (Shares) LL149,000,000 / (1,000)…

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SMART ESA TO LAUNCH FINTECH AND B2B ACCELERATOR ESA Business School’s incubator and accelerator, Smart ESA, plans to launch before the end of 2019 an acceleration program that will mainly focus on financial technology (fintech) and business-to-business (B2B) solutions, said Jihad Bitar, Director of Smart ESA. This will be ESA’s first acceleration program to benefit from the Circular 331 of the Central Bank (BDL). The university has so far been tapping its own financial resources. Smart ESA will inject cash in early-stage startups in exchange for equity. The nine-month program could include various fintech solutions such as blockchain technology, according to Bitar. Lebanon’s fintech market is still underdeveloped, he said. The B2B solution could include developing software for businesses, Bitar said. The program will leverage ESA Business School’s relationship with…

Provided by BUSINESSNEWS.COM.LB by LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES RETAIL SALES INDEX STABLE Retail sales in 2018 were half a percent lower than their 2017 levels, according to the latest edition of Retail Activity Indicators published by the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA), in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon (CCIABML). The index covers retail sales performance for nine categories of goods and services. It remained around ten percent below its 2012 base year level. Five categories declined while four retail sales indicators advanced. The food and beverages category witnessed the highest growth among advancing categories. Its growth stands out at 34 percent. Other advancing categories are the household goods category, the medical services category, and the tourism services category. Categories that declined are: Clothing and…

A look at the numbers quickly licenses the growing concern over Lebanon’s debt outlook. The fiscal deficit at the end of the third quarter of 2018 is more than twice that of 2017 for the same period. Two main factors contributed to its escalation: the 21 percent rise in personnel cost generated by the wage and salary increases adopted in the last quarter of the 2017 budget, and the eight percent escalation in the debt service cost. The latter reflects both higher debt and higher interest rates, with the latest treasury bill issues having commanded an interest rate increase of 2.5 percent and having reached ten percent on the ten year note. Shorter term rates rose by 1 percent, to the range of six to seven percent. Real rates, however,…

LES MOTEURS DE LA CROISSANCE DE L’ECONOMIE LIBANAISE DE 1997 A 2017 (THE ENGINES OF GROWTH OF THE LEBANESE ECONOMY FROM 1997 TO 2017) Robert Kasparian French LL30,000 Robert Kasparian, an economist and statistician, has written ‘The Engines of Growth of the Lebanese Economy from 1997 to 2017’, a study that includes his own evaluation of the growth of the economy over the twenty-year period. He devised an original method for assessing the share of different internal and external factors that contributed to the development of the economy. Using approximated figures, this study sheds light on the roles played by public and private factors in the economic activity. FOUR ECONOMIC PHASES The book highlights four phases in the development of the Lebanese economy. The first one, spanning the 1997-2003 period,…

There are 40 commercial centers currently under construction in Beirut, Baabda, Kesrouan, Metn, Aley, Jbeil, and the Shouf, according to a study undertaken by InfoPro Research. In general, commercial centers are mainly composed of ground floor shops, underground warehouses, and a number of floors dedicated to offices. Some of these projects are part of large mixed-use developments with residential blocks. TARGET AREAS The strongest magnets for commercial activity currently lie in Metn. The area is already home to an active commercial market, especially along its coastline. Metn will be home to over 40 percent of the 40 new centers. Less than half of these projects are located in the inland areas of Jdeideh, Zalka, and Dbayeh. More developers are heading towards Cornet Chehwan, Bsalim, and Ain Saadeh. Baabda caza comes…

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