September 2005
Editorial
For your information
Q&A Ineke Botter
Alfa's CEO on plans to upgrade and expand the phone network-starting with the new prefix for mobile phones
Companies & Strategies
Software success story
One Lebanese IT company has beaten moribund local demand for IT products by carving out niche markets in the Gulf
new companies
Getting a piece of the action
Beirut media center has built a solid business providing news transmission services fro western media.Here's how
Features
The fall and rise of MTV
In 2002,EXECUTIVE opposed the govenment's decision to close MTV,but warned of the dangers of using the media to promote political agendas.Today,it asks what's next for the new MTV
No small change: THE NEW LIRA
While they make take some getting udes to,Lebanon's new smaller lira bills are all but user-friendly.Modeled on the euro,they will eventually replace all dates designs
Special section:cars
Beating the slow down in THE NEW CAR MARKET
Offering special discounts, new car dealers have managed to claw back sales that plummeted in the wake of Rafik Hariri's assassination in February
Avoiding Death Traps
Under Lax regulations, a market for half-car imports joined together with other half-cars has flourished in Lebanon. The big victims are the buyers who haven't survived the splitting accidents in them
Vintage Stuff
Demand for vintage cars remains low in Lebanon,where high prices and import tariffs have made them the preserve of a select few
Cover story
Economy & Finance
Q&A Sami Haddad
Lebanon's new minister of economy and trade maps out his vision of a private-sector driven revival of the flailing Lebanese economy
Lebanon and Syria which needs the other more?
Syria and Lebanon remain tightly dependent on each other for trade in goods and services.EXECUTIVE weighs up the potential damage of extended economic fallout on both countries
All pumped up
Analysts predict oil prices could soon reach $100 a barrel.Don't believe the hype
Guaranteed returns
Looking for low risk, high yield investments? Guaranteed hedge funds are a safe bet
Special Report
Reviving Lebanon's print industry
Lebanon's once prosperous printing industry has long been overshadowed by it's regional competitors. But its not out of the gamejust yet
Business
Ottoman chic
As Lebanon's majestic old houses edge towards extinction, demand and prices for them started to rise
Capitalist culture
State of mind
As federalism rears its head in Iraq,it is worth considering the visions Lebanon's leaders have for the role of the state
