Economy

The Implementation of Electronic Tax Stamps Still Far Off
The Implementation of Electronic Tax Stamps Still Far Off

L The transition to electronic tax stamps is a necessity. It didn’t come as a surprise to the general public when MP Ibrahim Kanaan, head of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, made this announcement last week after the committee's meeting. What concerns citizens most is when and how they will be able to access it. At this point, ...

Central Bank's Safeguards Assessment: Key Findings
Central Bank's Safeguards Assessment: Key Findings

Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) is making progress with the Safeguards Assessment Program, signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year. The program centers on revising accounting policies, financial reporting and disclosures to uphold the highest standards of governance and transparency. The Safeguards Assessment Program, ...

Mikati’s Failure to Publish Legislation: A Legal Breach?
Mikati’s Failure to Publish Legislation: A Legal Breach?

  The Parliament approved 14 laws during its sessions on December 14 and 15, 2023. On December 19, the Cabinet decided to issue these laws on behalf of the President. Later on, the caretaker Prime Minister published 11 of them in the Official Gazette, while withholding three: one amending provisions related to private school teaching staff ...

Launching of the Monthly Food Products Price Index
Launching of the Monthly Food Products Price Index

Caretaker Economy and Trade Minister Amin Salam unveiled the Monthly Food Price Index on Friday, developed in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP). Salam met with a WFP delegation on Friday before unveiling the inaugural Monthly Food Price Index for July 2024. This launch marks a major step forward in the ministry’s commitment to ...

Fayad Inspects Work at Beirut and Nahr al-Kalb Rivers
Fayad Inspects Work at Beirut and Nahr al-Kalb Rivers

Walid Fayad, Caretaker Energy Minister, paid an inspection visit to the Beirut and Nahr al-Kalb rivers on Friday, as clean-up efforts neared completion. The tour’s objective was to inspect the work being done to clean up the riverbeds in order to avoid previous problems such as flooding, landslides, and rock falls caused by severe rains. Fayad ...

Budget 2025: A Major Gap Between Theory and Reality
Budget 2025: A Major Gap Between Theory and Reality

  The reinstatement of fiscal and budgetary discipline remains an unattainable goal. By submitting the 2025 draft budget to the government, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil once again bypassed the laws and regulations governing the preparation of the state budget. In early September, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil ...

Lufthansa Extends Flight Suspension to Beirut
Lufthansa Extends Flight Suspension to Beirut

Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, announced on Thursday that it would extend the suspension of its flights to Beirut until October 15, attributing this decision to heightened tensions in the Middle East. The airline group, which encompasses Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, initially suspended flights to the Lebanese capital at ...

Petition for Parliamentary Commission to Probe Electricity Sector Negligence
Petition for Parliamentary Commission to Probe Electricity Sector Negligence

Ten MPs – Ashraf Rifi, Michel Moawad, Fouad Makhzoumi, Ghassan Hasbani, Georges Okais, Adib Abdel Massih, Elias Hankach, Marc Daou, Bilal Houchaymi and Michel Douaihy – presented a petition on Thursday, calling for the formation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry to look into “the transgressions and acts of negligence committed in ...

FATF's Grey List: Transactions With Correspondent Banks Wont be Affected
FATF's Grey List: Transactions With Correspondent Banks Wont be Affected

Wassim Mansouri, the Acting Governor of Lebanon's Central Bank (BDL) has concluded his meetings with correspondent banks in London, returning with reassurances that these institutions will continue to cooperate with Lebanon, regardless of the anticipated decision by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) on October 24. However, the risk of Lebanon ...

18 Lebanese Students Join HEC Thanks to CMA CGM Scholarships
18 Lebanese Students Join HEC Thanks to CMA CGM Scholarships

Eighteen Lebanese students supported by the “CMA CGM Excellence Fund for Education” program joined the HEC Paris campus on September 10. This program, launched in 2021 - in collaboration with HEC Paris and École Polytechnique in France, Oxford University, Imperial College and King's College in the UK, the American University of Beirut (AUB), ...

Fayad Launches Call for Solar Power Plant Tenders
Fayad Launches Call for Solar Power Plant Tenders

On Wednesday, the Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayad, launched a new call for tenders via the public procurement platform for the construction of a solar power plant using photovoltaic cells with a total capacity of 8 megawatts. The plant will be financed entirely from the budget of the Ministry of Energy and Water and will be ...

Syria to Cut Transit Fees for Lebanese Trucks by 50%
Syria to Cut Transit Fees for Lebanese Trucks by 50%

Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamiye announced a 50% reduction in transit fees for trucks crossing Syria. This move is part of the ministry’s plan to strengthen bilateral cooperation. On his X account (formerly Twitter), he specified that positive discussions with Syria led to this decrease in transit fees for trucks ...