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The leaders of a leaderless movement
An awakened anger against the Lebanese government’s corruption and ineptitude has given birth to a growing country-wide popular movement. Young and old, rich and poor, political and apolitical, the...
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Stopping the spill
War is coming. The battles ahead will not be fought on land or sea. They will be waged in parliamentary sessions and cabinet meetings. Our enemy is readying for an invasion so our defenses must be...
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Transparency legislated
Starting next year, major players in the oil and gas industry will have some extra financial reporting to do. Any company listed on a European Union member state stock exchange (whether or not it is...
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Show us the money
Though Lebanon’s oil and gas sector is effectively on hold, it doesn’t mean policymakers have stopped showing up to work. Lawmaking is not a high-speed process, even with a functional parliament and...
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Greasy politics in oil and gas
A picture of Fouad Makhzoumi meeting Pope Francis sits on a mantel next to photos of other global figures in the salon of his multi-story mansion in Lebanon’s posh Ramlet el Baida district. Executive...
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A wealth of data
The third time proved the charm for Italian oil and gas company ENI in the past 12 months. In late 2014 and early 2015, ENI and South Korean partner KOGAS found nothing when drilling offshore for...
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A matter of clarification
While Lebanon opened its first offshore oil and gas licensing round in May 2013, international companies have not yet been able to submit bids because cabinet has not approved two necessary decrees...
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Forbidden no more
Lebanon was most likely a marginal topic on the sideline of nuclear discussions in Vienna, but the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group is expected to have direct implications on local...
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50 shades of hotel Le Gray
When you sit down at a sidewalk table of Gordon’s Café in downtown Beirut on a balmy late September afternoon, you can sip your espresso or pot of Sencha (green tea) in the middle of the city, nestled...
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Fitness on an incline
Over a decade ago, gyms or fitness centers in Lebanon evoked images of steroid pumped men grunting loudly while lifting heavy weights, or leotard clad women enjoying aerobics classes led by smiley and...
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Burning the fat
The commercial fitness industry in Lebanon is witnessing a growth both in the number of gyms and in the variety of fitness options inspired by global trends. Executive profiled four different gyms to...
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Quilvest loves BlomInvest
It is a regular romance. Quilvest, a global wealth manager, and Lebanon’s BlomInvest Bank have tied the knot with a new product partnership, allowing the Lebanese bank’s wealth management clientele to...
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Lebanon’s failing grade
Lebanon’s seasonal rains brought with them more than the usual road chaos this year. Trash that had been left on sidewalks as a result of the government’s self-inflicted garbage crisis floated down the...
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Rivers of corruption
In late October the streets of Beirut filled with water. A torrential downpour, common for this time of the year, washed the garbage accumulations on various empty lots and roadside spots onto the...
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No time to cry wolf
In the Lebanese banking sector’s cherished game of claiming the deposit throne, month-on-month drops of private sector deposits are usually reserved for the January statistics, in what has become known...
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Coming Sukleen
After protests outside their Lebanon plant and activist allegations of corruption, the CEO of Averda gives his first ever interview to a media organization. Little known by name in Lebanon, Averda is a...
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Blame it on Bassil
E What was minister Bassil’s plan to reach 24 hours of electricity by 2015? [Bassil decided] that we needed barges imported from Turkey, a new [power plant to generate] 700 megawatts, to rehab Zouk,...
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Industrial recycling
For all the talk of Minister of Agriculture Akram Chehayeb’s waste management plan including robust recycling initiatives, it actually lets municipalities decide how to treat and dispose of their waste...
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Guerilla entrepreneurship
That our politicians got us into an absolutely avoidable waste crisis they have been unable to extricate us from for over three months is simply embarrassing. It’s not about garbage any more. It’s...
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Time to talk it up a notch
Lebanon is at a crossroads. It has been two years since the announcement of Circular 331, and the murmurings of a revitalised golden age brought about by our startup and entrepreneurial system. Whilst...
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