Energy Lebanon strikes deals to get more oil from Iraq Lebanon has agreed deals to secure more fuel supplies from Iraq, the two countries said on Tuesday, as Beirut battles to produce more power to help it emerge from years of economic crisis. Baghdad has agreed to increase the volume of heavy fuel oil supplied under an existing deal by 50 percent to 1.5 million […] May 17, 2023
Analysis Lebanon’s export orders rise for first time in two years In spite of an overall decline in business activity, Lebanon recorded an increase in its export orders during April owing to improved currency stability. “Lebanon’s currency started to stabilise, particularly around mid-April,” Wael Menhem, a partner in the Beirut office of Lundy Investors, said. “It’s the first time in a long time that the currency […] May 15, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Tourism Lebanon’s tourism minister hails $9bn revenues Lebanon is not relying on International Monetary Fund cash to stay afloat, a government minister has told AGBI, as the tourism sector alone contributed $9 billion in revenue last year. The IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Lebanon in April 2022 for a $3 billion loan programme to tackle its financial crisis. But progress on […] May 1, 2023
Economy US official says Lebanon has ‘no other way out’ than IMF deal Lebanon has no alternative for economic recovery but to make progress on a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a senior US official said on Thursday. US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf visited Lebanon, which is suffering one of the world’s worst financial meltdowns, according to the World Bank, […] March 31, 2023
Economy IMF says Lebanon in ‘dangerous situation’ with reforms stalled The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday that Lebanon was in a very dangerous situation a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement and said the government must stop borrowing from the central bank. IMF mission chief Ernesto Rigo told a news conference in Beirut that the authorities should accelerate […] March 24, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon to sell unlimited US dollars to prop up pound Lebanon’s central bank will begin selling unlimited amounts of US dollars in a bid to halt the spiralling devaluation of the Lebanese pound, governor Riad Salameh said. Salameh set a new rate for Sayrafa, the central bank’s exchange platform, at 90,000 Lebanese pounds per dollar on Tuesday. He set the rate at 70,000 on March […] March 22, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanese banks to resume strike on March 14 Lebanon’s commercial banks will resume their open-ended strike on March 14, citing “arbitrary judicial decisions” that had drained their foreign currency reserves. The statement by the Association of the Banks of Lebanon (ABL) said legal measures had allowed borrowers to repay foreign currency loans to the banks at the old official exchange rate of 1,500 […] March 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon banks ‘have no liquidity’ to pay back depositors Lebanon’s commercial banks do not have enough liquidity to pay back depositors, the secretary general of the country’s banking association said in a letter that laid out the banks’ positions. The letter was signed by the Association of the Banks of Lebanon (ABL)’s Fadi Khalaf and served as the introduction to the ABL’s monthly report. […] March 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon’s central bank to sell US dollar at 70,000 pounds Lebanon’s central bank said on Wednesday it would sell US dollars in cash at a rate of 70,000 pounds per dollar on its Sayrafa platform starting on March 2 and until further notice. The surprise announcement came as the parallel market exchange rate for the Lebanese pound hit an all-time low of 90,000 per US […] March 2, 2023
Banking & Finance Swiss regulator investigates 12 banks in Lebanon corruption case Switzerland’s financial regulator has investigated 12 banks and launched enforcement proceedings against two of them in relation to corruption charges against longtime central banker Riad Salameh, it said on Monday. Lebanese authorities charged Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants on Thursday with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment after months of delay […] February 28, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon central bank governor faces new embezzlement charges Lebanese authorities charged longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants on Thursday with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment after months of delay in the high-profile case. But the development has also prompted fears that authorities in Lebanon, where Salameh retains high-level political backing, could slow down cooperation […] February 24, 2023
Analysis Energy One year on, what the war in Ukraine means for the Middle East A year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war’s impacts are reverberating across the Middle East and North Africa. While some Gulf oil producers have prospered during the conflict, it has heaped suffering on some of the most fragile and volatile economies in the region. “It has contributed to the difficulties in Egypt and the worsening […] February 24, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon’s central bank chief says he will not renew term Lebanon’s embattled central bank chief Riad Salameh has said he will leave his post once his latest term ends in July, even if he is asked to stay longer. “No one has asked me to continue [as central bank chief] but even if they do, I think this is enough,” he said in a televised […] February 20, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanon minister says tough to replace central bank chief Lebanese finance minister Youssef Khalil said replacing central bank governor Riad Salameh, who has held the job for three decades, would be difficult and that his term may be extended though no consensus has yet been reached. Salameh, who is being investigated by European and Lebanese prosecutors for alleged embezzlement of hundreds of millions of […] February 19, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanese depositors smash up and burn Beirut banks Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighbourhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a […] February 17, 2023
Analysis Economy Lebanese businesses learning to live with dollarisation Lebanon’s pound, which has fallen 98 percent against the dollar on the black market, will depreciate further unless policymakers enact meaningful reforms and restructure the country’s moribund financial industry. Such actions seem unlikely, with Lebanon’s caretaker government seemingly unable to resolve an economic crisis the World Bank describes as among the worst since the 1850s. […] February 13, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanese banks to start open-ended strike for judicial reforms Banks in Lebanon will start an open-ended strike from Tuesday but will keep ATMs operating for basic services, the Lebanese Banks Association said, urging authorities to pass overdue measures to deal with a deep financial crisis. The decision came after a meeting by the association to discuss judicial measures against banks that have snowballed since […] February 7, 2023
Energy Well drilling in Lebanon’s offshore block 9 to begin in Q3 2023 TotalEnergies is keen to start work on Lebanon’s offshore block 9 “as soon as possible”, with assessments to begin early next month and well-drilling to launch in the third quarter of 2023, its CEO Patrick Pouyanne said. Pouyanne was speaking at a joint news conference in Beirut after signing a three-way consortium deal with QatarEnergy […] January 30, 2023
Economy Lebanon sets new rate for withdrawals from dollar deposits Lebanon’s central bank said on Thursday it had set a new rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar for withdrawals from bank deposits denominated in dollars, but which can now can be accessed largely in the local currency. The rate was previously set at 8,000 pounds under central bank Circular 151, which implied […] January 22, 2023
Food & Drink $5.5m initiative for food security in Mediterranean countries A new $5.5 million package of technical assistance to improve food security in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and the West Bank and Gaza has been agreed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The joint initiative, which will be launched in January, is […] December 21, 2022
Energy Lebanon extends licensing round for eight offshore oil blocks Lebanon has again extended the deadline for applications to explore for hydrocarbons in eight offshore blocks, the energy ministry said on Friday. The deadline had already been extended several times, most recently from June until December 15. Lebanon’s energy ministry said that caretaker minister Walid Fayyad had pushed it back again to June 30, 2023 […] December 11, 2022
Economy Lebanon economy ‘on hold’ after fleeting summer resurgence Lebanon’s private sector cut jobs in November as declining orders spurred companies to reduce spending amid prolonged political uncertainty, according to the latest purchasing manager’s index (PMI) report. The BLOM Lebanon PMI slumped to a seven-month low of 48.1 last month, down from 49.1 in October. A reading above 50.0 shows improving business conditions, while […] December 6, 2022
