Lebanon’s real estate sector attracts FDI

According to the Foreign Direct Investment Report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Lebanon is categorized as a “smaller high performing economy” in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attraction. Lebanon ranks in the second category alongside Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. The first category (high performing countries) includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while the third category (below potential economies) is comprised of Kuwait, Syria, Palestine and Yemen. Lebanon’s FDI inflows have been on a roller-coaster trend over the last years, with Arab FDI inflows contributing around 95.90 percent and 97.67 percent of total 2006 and 2007 FDI respectively, according to the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL).   Lebanon’s FDI/GDP ratio is considered one of the highest in the ESCWA region, outpacing the average regional FDI/GDP ratio by 5.99 percent in 2006. According to IDAL, the breakdown of FDI inflows for