Economy

Fund Transfers 2023: An Unconvincing Figure of $6.4 Billion
Fund Transfers 2023: An Unconvincing Figure of $6.4 Billion

Lebanon ranked third in 2023 for diaspora fund transfers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Egypt led with transfers totaling $24.2 billion, followed by Morocco at $12.1 billion. Nevertheless, Lebanon surpassed the West Bank ($4.9 billion) and the Gaza Strip ($3.8 billion). As officially recorded, funds sent to Lebanon amounted to ...

Significant Drop in Food Prices in 2023
Significant Drop in Food Prices in 2023

The global prices of food products recorded a decrease of 13.7% in 2023, compared to the previous year, marked by a surge attributed to the war in Ukraine, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the monthly fluctuations in the prices of a range of essential ...

Private Sector Transport Allowances to Rise to LBP 450,000
Private Sector Transport Allowances to Rise to LBP 450,000

Private sector transportation allowances will rise from LBP 250,000 to LBP 450,000 per working day, on a par with those allocated to civil servants. This was announced on Friday by Mohammad Choucair, on behalf of the economic organizations, and Bechara al-Asmar, President of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (GCLW). The two parties ...

Forbes: Two Lebanese in the Top 100 MENA CEOs
Forbes: Two Lebanese in the Top 100 MENA CEOs

Two Lebanese leaders are part of the Top 100 CEOs in the MENA region, as listed by the American economic magazine Forbes Middle East.  In its third annual edition of the "100 Best CEOs," Forbes Middle East ranked two Lebanese individuals, Carlos Wakim and Joe Kawkabani, at the 77th and 91st positions, respectively. Carlos Wakim, a ...

Mansouri: No Change in Banking Relations With the UAE
Mansouri: No Change in Banking Relations With the UAE

Wassim Mansouri, Acting Governor of the Central Bank (BDL), said on Friday that banking relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be maintained in their current form. "There have been no modifications or changes," he said in a statement issued in response to rumors that circulated, on Thursday, in some media and on social networks that ...

Lebanon's Central Bank Acknowledges Deferred Losses
Lebanon's Central Bank Acknowledges Deferred Losses

Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) announced in a statement on Thursday the suspension of "seigniorage," or procedure of assessing the profit or loss made on producing a currency, and the commencement of collaborative efforts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review its Safeguards Assessment methodology. When approached by This is Beirut ...

Alfa and Touch Employees Press for Better Work Conditions
Alfa and Touch Employees Press for Better Work Conditions

The Syndicate of Telecom Employees, representing mobile phone operators in Lebanon Alfa and Touch, has once again spoken out, announcing that next week will be “crucial” if the Ministry of Telecommunications does not meet its demands and sign a collective agreement guaranteeing better work conditions. The syndicate assured that it “will not ...

Finance Ministry: It Is Now Possible to Make Electronic Tax Payments
Finance Ministry: It Is Now Possible to Make Electronic Tax Payments

The Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday that taxpayers liable for certain taxes can now make electronic payments through the electronic tax system at http://eservices.finance.gov.lb. It is now possible to electronically file tax returns (R5), individual annual statements (R6) and total annual statements for companies (R7) for the year ...

What to Expect in 2024
What to Expect in 2024

To attempt to guess the possible prospects for the year 2024, one must proceed with excessive modesty. Already, the data available from last year is scarce. Even international organizations, which invest millions of dollars annually in surveys and studies, seem engulfed in hazy conjectures. They hesitate to predict anything for the following ...

Budget 2024: Budget Credits Approved in Committee
Budget 2024: Budget Credits Approved in Committee

The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, chaired by MP Ibrahim Kanaan, met twice on Wednesday. It examined and approved the budgets of the Ministries of Education, Displaced Persons, Administrative Development, Finance, Telecommunications and Industry, as well as those of the National Anti-Corruption, Human Rights, Inspection and Relief ...

Electricity: More Supply Hours as of Wednesday
Electricity: More Supply Hours as of Wednesday

The Lebanese will enjoy more hours of electricity supply starting Wednesday evening, following the arrival to Lebanon of a diesel-loaded ship to operate power plants. In addition, caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad has received the draft of a new fuel agreement with Iraq. Power supply hours will gradually improve, reaching four hours a day ...

One Single IT Officer at the Lebanese Custom Administration
One Single IT Officer at the Lebanese Custom Administration

A technical assistance report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted the “dire conditions” of the Information Systems (IS) departments within the Lebanese tax and customs administrations. As per the IMF report, there is a real and pressing concern about the imminent collapse of Lebanon's tax and customs administrations. The ...