Property sales continue to drop. Fares: Numbers are not so bad

The activity of the real estate sector dropped for the second consecutive year, according to figures published by the Real Estate Registry at the Ministry of Finance.

The number of transactions totaled 58,000, down by 15 percent compared to 2014. The value of transactions reached $7.6 billion, falling by 14 percent. "With everything happening around us, the drop in the numbers is not that bad," said Massaad Fares, Chairman of the Syndicate of Real Estate Association in Lebanon (REAL). Not...

Article details

Price deflation for the first time. Decline in oil prices main driver

A 3.4 percent deflation was registered in 2015, for the first time in the post-war era. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 95.92 in December from 99.29 in the same month of 2014, mainly due to lower fuel and transportation costs resulting from lower oil prices.

Prices of the water, electricity, gas and other fuels category plunged by18 percent over the period, according to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS). This category, which has a weight of nearly 12 percent in the ...

Article details

Record year at Port of Beirut. Cars and containers up

The Port of Beirut (PoB) continued to realize growth last year, with profits rising by 13 percent to $239 million compared to 2014.

Elie Zakhour, Chairman of the International Chamber of Navigation (ACN), said: "The two main reasons behind growth is the record number of imported cars and rising number of local containers."

The number of imported cars went up by 22 percent to 112,000 units. Port of Beirut is the only port to receive new cars. Other ports have stopped receiving cars,...

Article details

Electricity consumption grows by seven percent. Consumption doubles in a ten year period

The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) estimates demand for electricity to rise to 31,000 gigawatt hours in 2020.

Sorina Mortada, Technical Consultant to the LCEC, said: "We took 2010 as a baseline and found that energy consumption grows by seven percent on a yearly basis." Consumption was calculated over the period of 2005-2015, resulting in an average growth of seven percent per year.

Electricity consumption in 2010 was 16,000 GwH while production is estimated at 11,...

Article details

Cleared checks down for first time since 2012. Fall driven by sluggish real economy

The value of cleared checks in lira and foreign currencies fell by 6.6 percent to a total of LL104,858 billion ($70 billion) last year compared with 2014, according to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL).

The drop was 3.5 percent in terms of number of cleared checks, which totaled 12.5 million in 2015.

Marwan Barakat, Head of Research at Bank Audi, said this was the first drop since 2012 and is due to the sluggishness in the real economy, which was reflected in a weakening i...

Article details

Construction permits down in number and surface. Mount Lebanon accounts for half of all new developments

The number of construction permits, which measures future construction activity, totaled 13,900 in 2015, dropping by 12 percent compared to the year before, according to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli. But the total area of these construction permits went down by only five percent and reached 12.3 million square meters. Around half of permits are located in Mount Lebanon.

The area per construction permit grew by around nine percent year on year, to 885 m2. In 2014 as well, ...

Article details

Ministry is seeking to manage mobile networks. Temporary measure to last until tender process is completed

The Ministry of Telecom (MoT) is seeking to obtain the Council of Ministers' mandate to temporarily manage the two mobile networks until a new tender to select the permanent operators is completed.

Until this authorization is obtained, the MoT may extend the contracts of the two mobile operators, said a source at the MoT. Last week the contracts of the Kuwait-based Zain Group (operating Touch) and Egypt's Orascom (operating Alfa) were extended to the end of February. The extensions are oc...

Article details

Tripoli vegetable market will bear fruit. Financing of $12 million by Saudi Fund

A wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Tripoli will be completed in six months on a Mina municipal land plot. It will replace the current Tebbaneh market, which caused extensive traffic jams.

Works include demolishing a building at the market's entrance. The contractor is Al Jihad for Commerce and Contracting. The market is composed of a large building with spaces to be rented by 164 traders registered under the syndicate of fruits and vegetable traders.

Toufic Dabbousi, Chairm...

Article details

Top 15 stories in 2015. Positive performance in many sectors

Surprisingly, many sectors scored a positive performance during 2015. Some experienced a significant slowdown. Large investments entered the market in the health, industry, hospitality and tourism, as well as the retail sectors. Many firms expanded their operations, locally or abroad. Several public works and transport projects were launched. The Central Bank launched a $1 billion stimulus package to support several sectors including energy, environment, and ICT. Parliament approved financial la...

Article details

Zahrani wastewater project gets $60 million. To benefit half a million people

The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) signed a loan agreement with the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) to finance wastewater networks and installations in Zahrani area.

The first phase of the project has a value of KD18 million ($60 million). It includes the construction of a primary wastewater treatment plant near the Zahrani power plant, as well as primary and secondary collection networks.

Wastewater networks will be installed in 62 villages, st...

Article details

Retail: 15 percent increase from last year’s holidays. Foreign expenditure to improve five percent

The retail activity is currently witnessing an outstanding increase. According to Simon Khoury, CEO of CityMall, there is a 15 percent increase in the retail activity of the mall in December, compared to the same month last year.

This week, around 40,000 visitors have entered CityMall per day. "We are expecting to reach higher numbers during the holidays," said Khoury.

Jamil Rayyes, General Manager of Hamra Shopping & Trading Co, owner of Grand Stores, said: "Retail activity impr...

Article details

Public works contracts $12.5 billion in 25 years. Transport, solid waste and water projects top the list

The total value of contracts awarded by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) since 1992 reached $12.5 billion. It rose by four percent in 2014. Foreign funding of contracts stood at $5 billion, up by $100 million.

No new contracts in physical infrastructure were awarded in 2014. Completed and ongoing contracts are still at $5.3 billion till end 2014. Transportation continued to be the largest consumer of contracts with $3 billion worth of projects in 25 years. It was follo...

Article details

Government green lights export of garbage. Total cost $193 million per year

The Council of Ministers has agreed to export solid waste, after five months of acute crisis and two failed ministerial plans.

Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb, who was tasked with following up on the issue, said: "The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) will be assigned to handle the garbage export process, according to local and international laws."

The CDR will sign contracts with Dutch firm Howa B.V and British firm Chinook Urban Mining International to transpor...

Article details

One million poor, highest rate in Bekaa. Average consumption is $5,200 per year

There were one million poor people in the country in the 2011-2012 period or 27 percent of the country's population, according to a recent poverty study published by the local Central Administration for Statistics (CAS) and the World Bank.

Poverty rates are particularly high among informal daily, weekly, and self-employed workers in the agriculture and construction sectors, according to the report. The poverty rate for non-Lebanese is higher, reaching 55 percent. The findings are based o...

Article details

Industrial permits up by 38 percent. There were 94 licenses issued for new industrial establishments

Industrial permits issued by the Ministry of Industry (MoI) reached 357 licenses in the first half of 2015, increasing by 38 percent from the same period last year.

Establishment licenses, i.e. to start a factory, represented the highest percentage (38 percent). Investment licenses, related exploitation of the facility, represented around 22 percent.

Most licenses were issued to industries from the third category (45 percent) or semi-light industries, such as food industry factor...

Article details

Firms to cash-in post Iran sanction lift. Sectors to benefit: Infrastructure, hospitality, and insurance

The private sector is ready to tap the Iranian market, once sanctions are lifted in early 2016, according to the timeline set by international negotiators.

Two economic delegations visited Iran this month, representing the private and public sectors, to explore investment opportunities. The official delegations headed by Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil included five senior officials from the ministry, and chairmen of economic bodies. It also included Lebanese businessmen from Afric...

Article details

Export of trash starting next week. Negotiations with local and international companies still ongoing

Export of solid waste in Beirut and Mount Lebanon will start as of next week, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

"The first steps of garbage deportation will be taken," said Minister Akram Chehayeb. The MoA is currently conducting final negotiations with companies to handle the transport process. Sawsan Bou Fakhreddine, Advisor to the Minister said: "The results of the negotiations with local and international companies that will manage the export process will be announced ne...

Article details

Olive oil exports up by 40 percent. Top destinations: Canada and South America

Exports of olive oil increased by 43 percent from 2012 till 2014, according to Customs. The Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) attributed this increase to the incentives offered per ton to olive oil producers to help them enhance the quality and the packaging.

Exports reached 5,990 tons last year, increasing from 4,162 tons in 2012. More than 50 percent of the olive oil was exported mainly to Canada and South America. In 2012, IDAL set the norms and standards required for...

Article details

More water projects in Bekaa. To reduce leaks, pollution

The Bekaa Water Establishment (BWE) launched a project for water supply in northern and central Bekaa. The project is initiated in cooperation with the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and international NGOs, Oxfam, World Vision, and GVC.

The project, valued at 21.5 million euros ($24 million), is funded by the European Union.

Nine villages, including Kob Elias, Taalbaya, Riyak, and Ablah will benefit from the installation of new main networks. BWE Chairman Ma...

Article details

Municipal dues for 2014 will be paid. Mount Lebanon to receive $70 million

The Council of Ministers has agreed to distribute the 2014 revenues of the Municipal Fund, totaling $350 million, to municipalities and unions of municipalities.

Unions of municipalities will receive $42 million of the total. The Union of Fayhaa Municipalities will receive the highest share of dues, with $2.5 million. The unions of municipalities in Tyr and Shkif will come in second.

Another $29 million will be used for diverse development projects across all municipalities.

Article details

Works on Tripoli’s Eastern Ring Road begin. Will be linked to Arab Highway, West Ring Road

Expropriation of property for Tripoli's Eastern Ring Road has just begun. The $100 million project is partly funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

The 8.5 kilometers road starts from Wadi Abu Halka on the coastal road and reaches the entrance of the Beddawi Oil Installations. It passes through Ras Maska, Zeitoun, Majdalya, and Beddawi. Works will be supervised and tendered by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).

The road will be made up of two lanes in both...

Article details

Food Safety Law enacted in Parliament. Commission will be founded to control the sector

Parliament enacted, in its plenary session last month, the Food Safety Law, which applied regulations for companies, farmers, and importers.

Mounir Bissat, Secretary General of the Syndicate of Food Industries, said: "It is a big achievement for industrialists. If the law had existed before, there would not have been a food safety crisis last year."

The law established the Food Safety Lebanese Commission (FSLC), which will be an independent entity working under the Cabinet's author...

Article details

Health education receives $80 million. Departments will have a capacity for 1,200 students

A loan agreement by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance a department for public health at the Lebanese University was approved by Parliament last month. The campuses in Tripoli and Fanar will benefit.

IDB will finance the project with a $72.5 million loan and the Government will provide the remaining $7.5 million. The loan will be paid back within 11 years, starting in 2020. The fee margin will be equivalent to the Libor rate (presently at 0.97) for six months plus 135 base poin...

Article details

Zouk, Jiyeh plants restoration financed. A total of 960 megawatts of power to be refurbished

Parliament has approved, in its plenary session last month, a loan agreement for the restoration of the Zouk and Jiyeh power plants.

The Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development will finance the agreement with 25 million Kuwaiti dinars ($82 million). The loan has a two percent yearly interest and will be paid back over a period of 20 years. It has a grace period of five years.

The project entails restoring four power generation units in Zouk with a combined capacity of 600 megaw...

Article details

Health expenditure increased by 70 percent in 16 years. Significant shortage of nurses

Health expenditures increased by 70 percent in the last 16 years, according to the 'Lebanon Economic Report' published by the World Bank.

Health spending per capita rose from $361 in 1995 to $621 in 2011, which is higher than the MENA average of $220. As a share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the country's health expenditures remain quite high despite falling from 10.7 percent in 1995 to 6.6 percent in 2011.

According to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the health bill ...

Article details