Banking & Finance Lebanese banker says capital control law ‘solution’ for holdups A top Lebanese banker on Friday criticised politicians for failing to enact a capital control law, saying this was the way to avoid bank raids by savers demanding funds from frozen accounts and to stop banks’ “discretionary practices”. BLOM Bank Chairman Saad Azhari – whose bank has been one of several held up this month […] September 25, 2022
Banking & Finance Lebanese woman who stole own savings says she’s not the criminal On the run from authorities after forcing a bank to release her family savings at gunpoint to treat her cancer-stricken sister, 28-year-old Lebanese interior designer Sali Hafiz insists she is not the criminal. “We are in the country of mafias. If you are not a wolf, the wolves will eat you,” she told Reuters, standing […] September 22, 2022
Banking & Finance Lebanon’s progress on reform process remains ‘very slow’: IMF Lebanon’s progress in implementing reforms required to unlock relief funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remains very slow, the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday. Lebanon agreed with the IMF on a list of 10 reforms to get access to $3 billion to ease its financial meltdown, which has left eight in 10 […] September 22, 2022
IMF to send mission to Lebanon to discuss slow reform progress The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that a staff mission will visit Lebanon next week to discuss ways to “speed up” implementation of agreed reforms required for an IMF loan program amid deteriorating living conditions in the country. “We are looking to support Lebanon as strongly as we can. It’s a difficult situation,” […] September 16, 2022
Banking & Finance Depositors hold up two Lebanese banks to grab their own money Two seemingly armed and desperate Lebanese depositors held up banks on Wednesday to force access to their own money, which has been blocked during a national financial meltdown. One woman with a gun and some associates briefly held hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank in the capital Beirut, before leaving with more than $13,000 […] September 15, 2022
Energy Lebanon-Israel maritime talks over oil allocation to conclude in ‘days’ Maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel that could help allocate oil and gas resources are close to concluding after around two years of negotiations, a top Lebanese security official said on Tuesday. “We’re talking about weeks – actually, days – to finish the delineation issue. I’m hopeful that the situation is positive,” the head […] September 14, 2022
Economy Lebanon’s bid for IMF rescue package hits snags Five months after Lebanon’s draft International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal raised hopes it could finally pull together an economic reform plan to address its financial meltdown, political and financial elites are obstructing prospects of securing any rescue package. Efforts to enact eight reforms sought by the IMF are going nowhere or falling short, hitting resistance […] September 9, 2022
Energy Lebanon says TotalEnergies could help in maritime issues with Israel Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that France-based oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, could help his country solve maritime demarcation issues with Israel, according to a post from the presidency office on Twitter. Aoun would make “contacts to help in this regard, will increase communications this month”, the office added. Lebanon and Israel are […] September 7, 2022
Analysis Economy Chink of light shines on Lebanon’s economic gloom For nearly three years Lebanon’s economic meltdown has sunk the currency by more than 90 percent, spread poverty, paralysed the financial system and frozen depositors out of their savings. But new research released today suggests tentative signs of an improvement in private sector operating conditions. The August Blom Lebanon purchasing managers’ index (PMI) posted fractionally […] September 5, 2022
Banking & Finance Lebanon banking secrecy law retains key problems: IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the Lebanese state on Thursday its banking secrecy law has not resolved “key deficiencies,” urging officials to make new changes to their first attempt at financial reform. The assessment, seen by Reuters and confirmed by a government official as accurate, is the IMF’s first comment on Lebanon’s steps toward […] September 2, 2022
Banking & Finance Lebanon president returns bank secrecy law to parliament Lebanon’s president on Wednesday returned to parliament an amended banking secrecy law that lawmakers passed around a month ago, saying it needed further tweaks to strengthen it. Parliament’s passage of the legislation on July 26 was considered a modest first step towards reforms required for Lebanon to access $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund […] September 1, 2022
Economy Public sector paralysed amid Lebanon’s economic implosion It’s a weekday, but 50-year-old Lebanese finance ministry employee Walid Chaar is not at work and hasn’t been since June. He rushes to water the garden at his home in the hills south of Beirut, using the single hour of rationed state power to run the sprinkler. He then phones his mother, who is struggling […] August 19, 2022
Banking & Finance World Bank accuses Lebanese politicians of ‘cruelty’ over deposits The World Bank has said that assertions by Lebanese politicians that deposits kept in the country’s collapsed banking sector are sacred are “cruel” because they “flagrantly contradict the reality.” Lebanon is in the third year of a financial meltdown that has left eight in ten people poor and which the World Bank says is both […] August 4, 2022
Economy Lebanon telecoms mark-up threatens migrants’ livelihood Kenyan cleaner Noel Musanga survived Lebanon’s economic meltdown, waves of Covid-19 and Beirut’s port blast. But when her internet provider announced rates would double, she feared her last lifeline to family and work would snap. The freelance migrant worker already barely earned enough to survive. Now, the higher telecoms bill means she will have to ration […] July 11, 2022
Lebanon’s Mikati named PM, urges action to secure IMF deal Lebanon’s Najib Mikati was named prime minister on Thursday, urging fractious politicians to set aside differences to secure an IMF deal which he said was the only chance to save the country from financial collapse. Facing a politically difficult path to agreeing on a new cabinet, the billionaire tycoon who led three previous governments said Lebanon […] June 24, 2022
Analysis Energy Inside the Israel-Lebanon dispute blocking oil and gas exploration A dispute between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime boundary has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and risks exacerbating tensions between the nations. After months of deadlock in US-mediated talks, Beirut warned on Sunday against any activity in the disputed area – responding to the arrival of a vessel to develop a field […] June 7, 2022
Exclusive Interviews Make some noise for Anghami’s Elie Habib The Lebanese music streaming mogul talks to AGBI about the meteoric rise of his Nasdaq-listed company, its battles with music pirates, relocation to Abu Dhabi and his ambition to launch Arab music stars Elie Habib fell in love with coding early. He started selling software at the age of 17 and launched several companies in […] May 18, 2022
Insight Food & Drink Ukraine war drives Gulf to double down on food security As the war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices and disrupted supply chains, hard-hit Mena countries explore ways to protect themselves In Abu Dhabi clusters of fresh tomatoes are growing inside rows of climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of the desert – just one example of the lengths the arid region must go to […] May 12, 2022
Opinion Development The US must come to Lebanon’s aid The upcoming elections on May 15 present an opportunity for real change but this can only materialise with outside help May 9, 2022
Analysis Economy Lebanese elections spark fears of more instability The Lebanese government recently ordered the demolition of the blast-hit grain silos that were decimated during the August 4, 2020 port explosion. The silos absorbed much of the blast’s impact, saving sections of the city’s western residential areas from total devastation. The government has now determined that they must be removed amid reports that the tilting […] May 9, 2022
Banking & Finance Lebanese central banker says ready to answer Swiss questions Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh is ready to meet Swiss prosecutors in person to answer questions about their money-laundering investigation, he said in a television interview. Salameh is facing investigations in Lebanon and five European countries into the alleged embezzlement of some $330 million in public funds with the help of his brother, Raja, […] April 29, 2022
Saudi Arabia, France pledge $30m for Lebanon aid France and Saudi Arabia announced a joint development fund for crisis-hit Lebanon on Tuesday, pledging an initial $30 million to support food security and the country’s crippled health sector, a French embassy statement said. The funds will be routed to humanitarian projects to provide emergency aid, including food, to the most vulnerable populations in Lebanon, […] April 27, 2022
