Economy goes from slow to sputtering

ENAR

Lebanon’s real economic growth was a meager 0.8 percent in 2012, according to the most recent evaluations from The Institute of International Finance (IIF), compared to an expansion of 1.8 percent in 2011. The downturn was primarily attributed to rising political tensions, declining domestic security and the Syrian conflict. Real private consumption was calculated to have increased by 3 percent in 2012, compared to 3.7 percent in 2011, while private investment contracted by 3.7 percent following a fall of 3.5 per cent in 2011. What is more, the IIF stated that the foreign direct investment represented a paltry 2.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, whereas it had amounted to 8.8 percent in 2011. The most recent figures from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) compound the bleak reflection on 2012, revealing a 67 percent increase in the fiscal deficit to reach $3.93 billion compared to 2011. The MoF based