Beirut Stock Exchange: Ringing the changes

The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) could be considered among the sick children of Middle Eastern bourses. With a tiny market capitalization of $11 billion and an average daily volume of trades of $2 million, it is eclipsed in the shadows of the big boys in the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with market capitalizations of $324 billion, $122 billion and $67 billion respectively. Admittedly, the BSE, even in the best circumstances, is unlikely to rival the top regional markets, but few would disagree that its full potential has hardly been tapped. For years, the BSE has been effectively orphaned by the Lebanese government. The Ministry of Finance has left the BSE chairman’s seat vacant for more than two years; the seats of three other board members — two resigned and one deceased — collect dust as well. In an apparent effort to begin ameliorating the situation,