It’s nice to take a catnap. But if youwake up to find your multi-million-dollarcompany has been reduced toalmost nothing and your former employeesare your biggest competitors, then youknow you’ve overslept. …
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Last year was tough for Sidem. Having long dominated the market for aluminum profiles, the company barely managed to break even. “We have reached a critical stage,” says Andre Kurdy, …
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No trucks, no warehouses, not even a single forklift. Just three rooms, two desks, one secretary and a couple of phones. Not much more can be found on the premises …
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T here was little hope for TMA’s survival just a few years ago. Once one of the world’s premier air freight carriers, reaching the fourth position in cargo capacity per …
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Changes are afoot in the country tothe east. A serious debate is underwayin Syria – one of the last bastions ofSoviet-style central planning – about economicliberalization, opening up borders andmaking …
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The 36-year-old Coral Beach Hotel, once a summer playgroundfor Gulf princes, European holiday seekers andBeirut’s elite, has closed its doors. After suffering three consecutivelosing years, Izzat Kaddoura, the owner, is …
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The Obegi family once owned one of the largestand most respected banks in Lebanon. Butduring the war, the family became fed up runningCredit Libanais under harsh conditions. “It was difficultto …
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Ever since the Golden Arches first litup the night sky in Dora inNovember 1998, the Lebanese justcan’t seem to get enough of that all-Americanfast-food chain. Beirut’s fivebranches of McDonald’s are …
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“I had a dream of making this companythe biggest industrial entityin Lebanon, but I’ve realized thatI can’t and the government doesn’t care tohelp,” says Izzat Kaddoura, chairman ofSoliver (Société Libanaise …
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One look at 45-year-old Raji ElMawla, regional manager of theMaytag Group, and you wouldprobably think that life is pretty easy for thisbusinessman. He speaks with a calm voiceand rarely wears …