This Is Beirut 2024-05-28 19:02 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
As per the latest figures released by the Central Bank of Lebanon, the number of outstanding bank payment cards reached 2,063,252 cards at end-August 2023, down from 2,379,207 cards at end-2022, witnessing a drop of 315,955 cards or 13.3% over the first eight months of 2023. In detail, resident payment cards continued to make up the majority of ...
Mario Chartouni 2024-05-28 15:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Finding out ways to preserve and increase one's wealth is a permanent concern worldwide, but it is an acute need in Lebanon due to the ongoing multidimensional crisis that has been afflicting the country for over four years. This issue is a persistent challenge, especially as cash is the number one ruler, and its financial management has proven to ...
This Is Beirut 2024-05-27 21:26 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Caretaker Minister of Finance Youssef el-Khalil and World Bank (WB) Executive Director Abdel Aziz al-Mulla discussed, over a meeting, the WB budget for Lebanon, the projects carried out in the country and the institution's strategy for the next two years. Also on the agenda were discussions regarding the framework of support provided by the WB to ...
This Is Beirut 2024-05-27 21:14 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The President of the FBN Family Business Network, Ricardo Hosri, highlighted in a statement the vulnerability of family businesses in Lebanon in light of the current circumstances, warning that "their situation is tragic and their sustainability is challenging due to the war in Gaza, the tensions at the southern border in Lebanon and the financial ...
Maurice Matta 2024-05-27 08:27 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
So far, TotalEnergies Group's report on drilling and exploration results in Block 9, southern Lebanon, remains unpublished, albeit the legal deadline passing for TotalEnergies to submit it to the Lebanese State represented by the Ministry of Energy. Drilling operations in the mentioned block ceased in mid-October 2023, and despite Minister Walid ...
Liliane Mokbel 2024-05-26 10:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
In 2023, Lebanon imported 31,814 kg of gold bars, valued at $1.9 billion, compared to 16,776 kg in 2022, an increase of 89.6% year-on-year. This marked a record high for Lebanon in terms of the weight and value of gold bar imports over a decade, namely, from 2014 to 2023. According to the research and statistics bureau Information ...
2024-05-25 10:34 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
For several years, Lebanon has been facing severe electricity rationing in the summer due to increased consumption and the inability of power plants and the grid to handle the load. However, it appears that the Lebanese might hope to benefit from an additional one or two hours of electricity per day starting mid-June. The office of EDL director ...
This Is Beirut 2024-05-23 21:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The chairman of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, announced that a suspension of fiscal stamp sales is being considered. If the authorities fail to resolve the black-market trafficking of these stamps, a draft law with double emergency status will be proposed. The Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee held a ...
This Is Beirut 2024-05-23 20:22 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Poverty in Lebanon has more than tripled over the past decade, reaching 44% of the total population, according to a new World Bank (WB) report published on Thursday. Based on a recent household survey covering five Lebanese governorates – Akkar, Beirut, Beqaa, North Lebanon and most of Mount Lebanon – the report reveals that one in three ...
2024-05-23 14:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The recent mission report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that Lebanon’s economy and population are still heavily burdened by the lack of action on “essential” economic reforms. This situation has been further exacerbated by the negative impacts of the war in Gaza, conflicts on Lebanon’s southern border, and the ...
Nicolas Sbeih 2024-05-23 12:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In societies, it is customary to find two categories of people or entities: builders and destroyers. Generally, this distinction tends to be nuanced and subject to debate. But not in our case. Here, everything is clear. There is a category that we take pride in when we see them inaugurate a hotel, a factory, or a business — essentially creating ...
This Is Beirut 2024-05-22 23:49 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
"Because things have become clear, we need to move towards a final agreement", said Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Lebanon, at the end of his meeting on Wednesday in Beirut with the Economic bodies, chaired by Mohamad Choucair. However, he did not give any further explanation of what seems clear, in ...