Liliane Mokbel is an experienced journalist and editor specializing in economics, with many years of work in print media and radio. A graduate of ESCP Business School, she is also skilled in web writing and proficient in AI-assisted content creation tools, offering insightful and accessible analysis of curret economic issues.
Liliane Mokbel 18/03 18:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
For nearly one year now, the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) has withdrawn around 32% of the Lebanese pound's circulating supply from the market. This action has successfully stabilized the black-market dollar exchange rate at approximately 89,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, an action that has also triggered a simultaneous increase in interbank ...
Liliane Mokbel 17/03 16:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The need for salary increases in the private sector is more than justified, especially given the skyrocketing triple-digit inflation and the 2024 Finance Law, which has seen taxes and levies multiplied tenfold to fortyfold. The concertation between economic organisms and the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers regarding a potential ...
Liliane Mokbel 15/03 19:34 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The stamp black market thrives openly, with prices soaring to somehow astronomical heights, even within ministries, occasionally. The crux lies in the necessity of affixing the fiscal stamp to almost all accounting formalities, under applicable laws. In the “digital age,” the ordinary taxpayer rightfully wonders why the Ministry of Finance, ...
Liliane Mokbel 13/03 20:57 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Rehabilitation of the Beirut port: France has honored its commitments to provide technical support. It is now up to Lebanon to take action. The ball is in its court. All hopes are now permitted for a prosperous future for the Beirut port, especially since "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," as the Chinese philosopher Lao ...
Liliane Mokbel 08/03 21:56 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
For those wondering when the bank dollar exchange rate is going to increase, it is becoming increasingly clear that it won't happen anytime soon. It's a complete mystery. The causes are many. The government, the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) and the Ministry of Finance continue to pass the blame, leaving depositors frustrated. None of them is ...
Liliane Mokbel 29/02 11:08 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Once again, the government has granted salary increases to public sector employees, disregarding the fundamental recommendations for public sector reforms. The Council of Ministers, led by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, met on Wednesday at the Grand Serail and approved a salary increase for public sector employees ranging from a ...
Liliane Mokbel 27/02 17:52 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The National Social Security Fund (CNSS), left to its own devices to recover its reserve funds in Lebanese pounds, has decided to take action. The National Social Security Fund has taken significant decisions to bolster its reserves and restore its role as a ‘partial safety net’ for healthcare for low- and middle-income individuals. The CNSS ...
Liliane Mokbel 17/02 19:28 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A 31.83% surge brought bank assets to $115.25 billion in December 2023, following the Central Bank du Liban (BDL)'s adoption of a new exchange rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds per US dollar. As for the assets, currency and deposits held with the Central Bank represented a significant 72.99% of the total, witnessing a yearly decline of 23.4% to ...
Liliane Mokbel 16/02 21:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The Council of State's decision to invalidate the article related to the suppression of a significant portion of the state's foreign currency commitments to the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), as outlined in the government's economic recovery plan dated 20/5/2022, brings some relief to depositors and bankers. However, questions concerning the ...
Liliane Mokbel 14/02 10:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
On Tuesday, the administrative court ruled on the dispute between the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) and the State. The Council of State invalidated the government's plan to abolish bank reserves at the Banque du Liban (BDL). A major blow, which calls into question the validity of the banking resolution proposed by the government. On ...
Liliane Mokbel 11/02 22:19 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Should the approval of the Finance Law within constitutional deadlines be enough to presume that "the country is operating effectively"? Taxes and fees have increased by 10 to 46 times, while Lebanese citizens struggle to keep their heads above water. Under the Finance Law, taxes on goods and services, the primary revenue source, are estimated at ...
Liliane Mokbel 05/02 20:58 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The Central Bank's (BDL) first deputy governor Wassim Mansouri issued on Saturday Circular 166 on exceptional measures for the gradual repayment of bank deposits made in foreign currency after the date of 10/31/2019. Mansouri specified that Circular 166 was adopted after he had obtained the opinion of the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), ...
Liliane Mokbel 03/02 11:57 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
On Friday, Mohamad Karaki, the Director-General of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), made a pivotal decision to set the exchange rate at 89,500 Lebanese pounds per one dollar for calculating contributions from NSSF members who receive their salaries, either in full or in part, in foreign currencies. This adjustment becomes effective as of ...
Liliane Mokbel 01/02 19:36 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The destiny of the Finance Law remains uncertain. Every budgetary article voted by Parliament is subject to invalidation appeal before the Constitutional Council once the text is promulgated and published in the Official Gazette. Before the final version of the 2024 budget was released, an outcry erupted over an article that was introduced during ...
Liliane Mokbel 30/01 21:33 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The issue of the bank dollar exchange rate remains unresolved. Parliament withdrew from this task during the review of the 2024 Budget, while the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) is taking its time to decide on the matter. The acting governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Wassim Mansouri, is expected to arrive in Beirut from Paris on Tuesday ...
Liliane Mokbel 22/01 07:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The statements of Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, made on the sidelines of the Davos forum, about the impeding recovery of bank deposits have keyed up the online community, triggered various interpretations, and stirred up confusion among the public. Caretaker PM Najib Mikati announced from Davos that "a clear program detailing how ...
Liliane Mokbel 18/01 22:58 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
What once was a social safety net, represented by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), is no longer. Despite the good will of NSSF Director-General Mohammad Karaki, the calculation and withdrawal process of end-of-service indemnities continue to pose a complicated contention. Unfortunately, it is the employees, who are the most vulnerable, ...
Liliane Mokbel 17/01 22:43 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Initiating an adjustment of the dollar exchange rate at 89,500 Lebanese pounds before transitioning to a floating exchange rate regime is a prudent and essential measure. While standardizing the exchange rate is vital for economic revitalization, a key question remains: Does this imply a floating system, where the dollar-to-pound exchange rate is ...
Liliane Mokbel 14/01 12:48 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Many MPs have voiced their concerns, alternatively denouncing "hidden deficits" or "covered-up deficits" in the proposed 2023 budgets (which have not been voted on yet) and that of 2024. The 2024 budget project, examined by parliamentary committees, anticipates a deficit of around LBP 17 trillion. This figure has been contested by numerous MPs ...
Liliane Mokbel 07/01 11:42 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon ranked third in 2023 for diaspora fund transfers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Egypt led with transfers totaling $24.2 billion, followed by Morocco at $12.1 billion. Nevertheless, Lebanon surpassed the West Bank ($4.9 billion) and the Gaza Strip ($3.8 billion). As officially recorded, funds sent to Lebanon amounted to ...
Liliane Mokbel 05/01 12:47 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) announced in a statement on Thursday the suspension of "seigniorage," or procedure of assessing the profit or loss made on producing a currency, and the commencement of collaborative efforts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review its Safeguards Assessment methodology. When approached by This is Beirut ...
Liliane Mokbel 03/01 17:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
A technical assistance report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted the “dire conditions” of the Information Systems (IS) departments within the Lebanese tax and customs administrations. As per the IMF report, there is a real and pressing concern about the imminent collapse of Lebanon's tax and customs administrations. The ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-30 16:08 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The retirement pension plan, set to replace the end-of-service benefits, was approved by Parliament on December 15. Nevertheless, its implementation hinges on the signing and promulgation of approximately fifteen implementation decrees. Mohamad Karaki, the General Director of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), has indicated that ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-27 20:49 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Parliament meticulously voted on December 15, 2023 on the law regarding commercial leases. Despite the National Assembly's careful consideration, tenants and landlords voiced their dissatisfaction—a much-expected reaction, to say the least. Amid great socio-economic fragility, the law enacted on December 15, 2023 is progressively ending, over ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-22 13:59 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The ongoing conflict in Gaza is a major shock to Lebanon's precarious growth model, as underscored in the latest World Bank report. The latest World Bank report on Lebanon, the 'Lebanon Economic Monitor (LEM)' for Fall 2023, headlined "Caught in a New Crisis," underscores the fragility of a Lebanese economy, whose growth expectations have been ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-20 18:39 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Without prior notice, Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) announced on Monday evening (December 18), by means of a simple statement, a new rate for the dollar on its Sayrafa exchange platform. It set the rate at 89,500 Lebanese pounds (LBP) to the dollar, marking an increase of LBP 4,000 from the rate that has been in effect since last ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-15 19:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Solidere recorded losses of $11.1 million in 2022, compared to $21.5 million in 2021. However, its stock price remains stable on the Beirut Stock Exchange. According to the audited financial report, losses of the Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District (Solidere) decreased in 2022 by $10.4 million, ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-13 20:21 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
New 100,000 Lebanese pound banknotes have been in circulation since December 1, 2023. There's no need to panic, as this is a purely technical measure. However, what about the 500,000 and 1,000,000 Lebanese pound banknotes? Irrespective of the purpose behind printing higher-value banknotes than those currently in circulation, such a measure ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-05 23:14 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Activity in the land registry services of Mount Lebanon has been at a standstill since October 2022, after a period of slow operation dating back to early 2020. More than 50,000 land registration formalities in this mohafazat are languishing in drawers. A nightmare for the Lebanese. Real estate transactions are on hold in the land registry ...
Liliane Mokbel 2023-12-03 16:23 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The price of gold has reached multiple peaks in the final week of November 2023. Gold held steady with its weekly gains, closing the week at $2,053.30 per ounce on December 1, 2023, not far from its all-time high of $2,075.47 in August 2020. As a reminder, one ounce is equivalent to 31.10 grams. Gold prices rose amid increasing concerns about a ...