Economy

Lebanon Under Mandate(s)
Lebanon Under Mandate(s)

Some countries require caretaking. They need someone else to manage not only an exceptional situation, but also their day-to-day life. This pattern recalls the period of mandates, all born after the First or Second World War – initiatives meant to build a state that wasn't there, or to organize a country that was barely so. Our French ...

Hamiye: GPS Jamming Jeopardizes Lebanese Airspace
Hamiye: GPS Jamming Jeopardizes Lebanese Airspace

Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamiye raised the alarm on Wednesday about GPS signal jamming, which is putting civil aviation at risk. Speaking at the meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Hamiye pointed out that “the jamming is carried out by the Israeli Army continuously, ...

Fayad: Electricity Sector Plan Progressing Slowly but Surely
Fayad: Electricity Sector Plan Progressing Slowly but Surely

Caretaker Minister of Energy Walid Fayad emphasized in a recent interview with the LBCI television channel that progress in the electricity sector plan is positive, but lamented its slow pace. He underscored the lack of attention from politicians and decision-makers towards the energy sector, stressing its critical role in the economy. “The ...

Syndicates of Banks' Employees Reject Sector Restructuring Plan
Syndicates of Banks' Employees Reject Sector Restructuring Plan

The Federation of Syndicates of Banks' Employees in Lebanon strongly rejected the government's proposed plan to restructure the banking sector. Discussion of the proposed draft law aimed at addressing Lebanon's banking crisis and the government's proposed restructuring measures took place on Monday in a meeting organized by the Federation in ...

Prior Permit Required for Importing Onions and Potatoes From Egypt
Prior Permit Required for Importing Onions and Potatoes From Egypt

Caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan issued a decision on Monday concerning onion and potato imports from Egypt. He stipulated that these must be subject to a prior import permit within the time limit set by the decree "for importing certain types of vegetables and fruit during specific periods." The statement confirms that this ...

World Bank: 2024 Budget, A Missed Opportunity for Change
World Bank: 2024 Budget, A Missed Opportunity for Change

In its report on "Lebanon's Poverty Outlook," the World Bank (WB) considers that the budget for fiscal year 2024 represents "a missed opportunity to adopt the necessary changes to the budget and fiscal policy," even though the latter plans to reduce the budget deficit to zero and achieve revenues of 17.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in ...

Central Bank Active on Establishing Bloomberg Foreign Exchange Platform
Central Bank Active on Establishing Bloomberg Foreign Exchange Platform

Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) is said to be actively working on completing the technical elements of the Bloomberg platform, aimed at "regulating" the exchange rate and the movement of purchases and transactions. This will enable financial market professionals to access the foreign exchange markets and trade currencies using the functionalities ...

Lebanon, the Undeniable Victim of the Israel-Hezb Conflict
Lebanon, the Undeniable Victim of the Israel-Hezb Conflict

Ten billion dollars. This is the staggering figure of losses in Lebanon put forward by the Caretaker Minister of Economy, Amine Salam, as a result of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Beyond the human and material losses, there is an economic dimension that can no longer be ignored. For a country already at the bottom of the pit, this is one war too ...

April Public Sector Salaries to Be Paid on Time
April Public Sector Salaries to Be Paid on Time

Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef el-Khalil announced on Friday that "there will be no delay in disbursing the salaries of civil servants and military personnel." He indicated that the Ministry's employees would be working on Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday, in order to pay salaries on time. The latter will be transferred to the Banque du ...

Bohsali: Food Product Prices Increased by 50% in One Year
Bohsali: Food Product Prices Increased by 50% in One Year

The president of the Importers of Food Products Syndicate, Hani Bohsali, stated on Friday that "food products are the least affected by the increase recorded in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) last March (+1.72%) and on an annual basis by 70.36%, especially since the index includes 16 other sectors, including alcohol, clothing, electricity, health, ...

Finance Ministry: Possible Delay in Payment of Public Sector Salaries
Finance Ministry: Possible Delay in Payment of Public Sector Salaries

In a press release on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance announced a possible delay in settling public sector salaries. The statement said that the delay was not due to the resignation of the Director of the Treasury, but to a malfunction in the Ministry's electronic system on Thursday, which technicians are working to repair as quickly as ...

Mikati Emphasizes Capital Control Law Urgency
Mikati Emphasizes Capital Control Law Urgency

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati emphasized that one of his government’s key objectives is “striving to address the current economic and financial crisis by primarily approving the capital control law.” During his speech at the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) conference on Thursday, themed “Arab Economic Security in Light of Geopolitical ...