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Going it alone, together
Samar Ibrahim doesn’t like her current office. Since February, necessity has forced her into a small space in the bowels of ABC Mall, Ashrafieh. She suggests meeting for an interview instead at...
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Retribution over rehabilitation
Drug use in Lebanon is said to be prevalent but remains difficult to define. An estimate from a 2012 report by the Institute of Health Management and Social Protection at Saint Joseph University in...
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Insuring a healthy economy
Insurance is good for an economy. It is as simple as that. By being insured, that is by dedicating between 3 and 10 percent of their gross domestic product to financial care and protection of life,...
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Anatomy of an insurance sector
The Lebanese insurance industry is enigmatic in the sense that numerous companies – 50 – share $1.5 billion in gross premiums but that not one of the companies is listed. For a considerable time – at...
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Insuring growth
E Can you confirm data suggesting that AROPE Insurance maintains a leading role in underwriting comprehensive motor insurance, meaning insurance that covers the risks of owning and operating a car?...
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How secured is the Lebanese insurance sector?
The insurance penetration rate in Lebanon for 2014 was $557 premium per capita or 3.3 percent of GDP and very low for personal lines. Hence, there is much room for growth. However, if the insurance...
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Way beyond cars and football
It means one thing and one thing only when flags of many colors are hoisted on Lebanese balconies: football is imminent. Famed for one of the most consistent and largest shows of fandom for big...
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Diplomatically speaking
E In 2015, Germany experienced a sudden unexpected influx of migrants and refugees in large part due to the Syrian crisis and its effect on host countries, including Lebanon. As Germany has been...
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Strategies to survive the real estate sales slump
The disruption was illuminating. When the knock first came, Georges Chehwane tried not to interrupt his interview with Executive. The matter, however, demanded the chairman of Plus Holding’s attention....
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A national oil company for Lebanon?
It’s been three years since the nascent oil and gas sector in Lebanon was brought to a complete halt. The relative success of the pre-qualification round in 2013 brought the sector to center stage and...
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The fear of an empty plate
There is an old Lebanese saying for reassurance in troubled times. For years, comparatively well-off people have told others, especially children, that ‘ma fi hadan bimout min el jou’’ (no one dies of...
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In need of a new national economic strategy
Our economy is seriously underperforming. While this isn’t a surprise, it still bothers me every single day. I love our banks, but they are only part of the equation for real economic success. We need...
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An ode to strength
Last month Lebanon celebrated, on May 25, our liberation and resistance national holiday for the 16th time. The region also marks 100 years of the Sykes-Picot Agreement’s adoption on May 16, which was...
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Back to banking for the future
Lebanon without banks. That is far more difficult to envision than Mount Sannine without snow or the coast line without illegal buildings and the hills without litter. Asking some Lebanese economists...
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Get your house in order
Alain Saadeh, the lead actor in Film Kteer Kbeer (Very Big Shot), shocked audiences at a domestic awards show on May 28 when he refused the Murex d’Or award. Speaking on behalf of the director and...
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Lebanon’s cinema: the best ambassador
When the 12th edition of the Lebanese Film Festival opened to movie enthusiasts at the Beirut Souks on May 30, it reflected the potential of the nation’s film industry but was also a testament to the...
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Yes we Cannes
In mid-May there was a temporary mass migration to the south of France as film professionals around the globe rushed to attend one of the year’s most prestigious international film festivals. When...
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No stone unturned
When M Media’s Chairman Eli Khoury described the recent success of Bil Nesbeh La Bokra Chou? (What About Tomorrow?) as “phenomenal”, he was right, from the perspective of the Lebanese market. With...
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Child labor in agriculture on the rise in Lebanon
The sun is rising over the Anti-Lebanon mountain range that borders Syria. Kowsa Ibrahim, a 12 year old refugee from Aleppo, is already at work pruning grape vines. She will work for the next several...
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Compelled to comply
“Should I be worried?” wondered one Beirut Souks restaurant owner. During a lunch at the local establishment the restaurateur passed by the table to inquire about the meal and service, casually...
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