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Old problems, new restrictions
As 2014 was winding its way from present to past, the Lebanese market’s top banking buzzword was resilience. In interviews throughout the year as well as in year end conversations with Executive,...
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Dormant capital
When it comes to the question of what Lebanese commercial banks should and could do differently in 2015, the short answer is ‘almost everything’. However, as far as what one can realistically expect...
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Banking in subdued colors
Gray, when not taken as the zone between black and white but as the color of unobtrusiveness and understatement — as well as secretive sway — has long been employed to characterize issues and people...
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Two wheels forward
Executive met with Nicolas Boukather to discuss the newly formed Lebanese Association of Motorcycle Agents (LAMA), of which he is the secretary general, and what is needed to bolster sales. Boukather...
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Auto boom
It was business as usual for the first nine months of 2014 in the automotive and transportation sectors. Car sales were similar to 2013, and used car sales continued to drop, with low priced and new...
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Shattered dreams
The Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) has “a team of people who mean well, but look at the top. Look at the board,” says Nassib Ghobril, head of the economic research and analysis...
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Just go
When the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon was first created in 1994, hope for the economy to flourish was not such a wild concept. Lebanon was being rebuilt after the war. Times were...
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Resigned to failure
The Investment Development Authority of Lebanon is in a unique position. It has autonomy to make many decisions on its own and is more or less immune from having its work disrupted by a political class...
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Hit the road
Every month the Automobile Importers Association of Lebanon (AIA) sends out its Registration Report, showing the year-to-date breakdown of new car sales per brand. Over the course of 2014, the attached...
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It came out of nowhere
At the end of every year, automotive dealers typically begin massive liquidation campaigns to get rid of their older stock and make way for newer models. The 2014 campaigns are set to be more drastic...
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Two wheels a go-go
Two wheelers have never been an overly popular mode of transport in Lebanon. There are, at one end of the spectrum, the cheap runaround bikes favored for day to day use and by delivery men, and at the...
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Hell’s angels
Can any trade sector survive without governing laws? In Lebanon yes, it is possible, yet some business owners struggle to keep their companies as legitimate as needed. It does sound ironic, but at all...
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Reality sets in
The chances of Lebanon signing offshore exploration and production sharing contracts with oil and gas companies in 2015 are slim, but that does not mean that all work in developing the emerging sector...
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Unexplored potential
A political decision is needed in 2015 for Lebanon to begin exploring for offshore oil and gas reserves. Until the government passes decrees delineating the offshore blocks and approving model...
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Floating an idea
The Eastern Mediterranean is a complex environment for gas producers and countries aspiring to become gas exporters in the next few years. Not only do they have to deal with the usual industry...
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Towards energy independence
The dictum ‘the Stone Age did not come to an end because the world ran out of stone’ still rings true. The transition to forms of energy other than oil, gas and coal will happen — and is happening —...
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Stunted growth
As Lebanon’s banking sector continues to be as solid as a rock the financial sector is perhaps its deprived younger cousin. However, many financial firms and boutiques do stake it out from their...
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Struggling to capitalize
While naturally there are incremental increases to any reputable Lebanese financial service business, 2014 did not see any developments out of the ordinary. The lack of real activity on the capital...
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A sea of small fish
Whether it is mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, managed accounts, individual securities or any other alternative investment, one can safely assume that the needs of high net worth...
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How to do an IPO
An initial public offering, or IPO, is a company’s first offering of its equity to public investors; its main objective is for the company to raise capital. It is generally an intensive process that...
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