Liliane Mokbel 21/06 17:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Iran war, Lebanon is struggling — against all odds — to contain the economic fallout. A near-impossible task for a country still reeling from the toll of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, which left it drained on human, financial and institutional levels. In this climate of escalating regional tension, ...
Liliane Mokbel 21/06 14:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
lebanon Eurobonds war Iran Israël
Lebanese eurobonds, long regarded as one of the most profitable investments in emerging markets in 2024, have sharply declined by 13.15%. This downturn is mainly attributed to the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Iran last Friday, coupled with ongoing stalemates in structural reforms and sovereign debt restructuring. These ...
This is Beirut 20/06 17:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon Finance Ministry World Bank Lebanon Financing Facility
Lebanon has just secured $6 million in aid to strengthen its tax and land systems. This grant, obtained through the Lebanon Financing Facility (LFF), aims to support the Ministry of Finance's reform and digital transformation efforts. Established in January 2020 following the Beirut port explosion, the LFF brings together representatives from ...
This is Beirut 20/06 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Israel Middle East Oil
Oil prices tumbled Friday and equity traders fought to end a volatile week on a positive note after Donald Trump said he would consider over the next two weeks whether to join Israel's attacks on Iran. Speculation had been swirling that Trump would throw his lot in with Israel, but on Thursday he said he would decide "within the next two weeks" ...
This is Beirut 20/06 10:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The price of rice doubled in Japan in the 12 months to May, data showed Friday, as an acceleration in inflation piled fresh pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of key elections next month. Polls for parliament's upper house are crucial for Ishiba after public support for his administration tumbled to its lowest level since he took ...
Christiane Tager 19/06 23:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Gulf Israel Middle East tourism economy lebanon
Since June 13, the travel sector in the Middle East has faced severe turbulence following clashes between Iran and Israel. And as always, Lebanon — true to its role as the region’s perennial bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time — ends up paying the price, once again caught in the center of the storm. “The sector has suffered ...
This is Beirut 19/06 19:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Banks Middle East World bank Lebanon
The World Bank forecasts real GDP growth of 4.7% for Lebanon in 2025, driven by a recovery in tourism, moderate growth in consumption and the beginnings of renewed confidence, despite persistently weak private investment. This hoped-for rebound is based on the implementation of a one-year multisectoral action plan designed to accelerate ...
This is Beirut 19/06 16:30 - Reading : less than a minute
Banks Syria Italy SWIFT economy
For the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Syria has completed an international bank transfer via the SWIFT system – a symbolic step toward reintegration into the global financial network. The announcement came on Thursday from Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh, who revealed in an interview with Reuters that ...
Tara B. Moussallem 19/06 16:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Casino du Liban Economy Free Patriotic Movement FPM
It was an operation that took everyone by surprise and deserves to be loudly applauded: Lebanese security forces, in coordination with financial judiciary authorities, carried out raids on the 18th of June at Casino du Liban—seizing computers and servers—and at a branch of OMT, a money transfer company. This is a rare assertion of ...
This is Beirut 19/06 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Animation IA Animaj Cartoons Investments Streaming Culture
French startup Animaj, which acquired the popular Spanish children’s animation brand Pocoyo in 2023 and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce kids’ content, announced on Wednesday that it has raised €75 million to accelerate its growth. The fundraising round was led by Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, and HarbourView ...
Christiane Tager 18/06 20:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
With regional tensions mounting, Lebanon’s economy teeters between stagnation and potential collapse. Nassib Ghobril, Chief Economist at Byblos Bank, tells This is Beirut that the conflict’s primary consequence is widespread instability, discouraging investment, slowing trade, and deterring tourism. The looming threat of war—particularly ...
This is Beirut 18/06 20:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Qlayaat Airport Lebanon Infrastructure Investment Development
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny on Wednesday reviewed progress on the long-anticipated Qlayaat Airport rehabilitation and reactivation project, in the presence of representatives from Dar Al-Handasah – Shair and Partners, the consultancy firm behind the master plan, which was presented as part of ...