Broadening horizons

by Anthony Mills July 1, 2004

written by Anthony Mills July 1, 2004

Banque Nationale de Paris Intercontinentale (BNPI), an offshoot of France’s BNP Paribas, is celebrating its 60th year in Lebanon, an indication that the bank remains confident of the Beirut market. Based on the niche market the bank has already carved for itself and its plans for regional growth, it is clear that the decision to maintain its presence here is also a well-planned, strategic move. “It is important for us, as an international bank, to be in Lebanon, not only because it is the link to Europe, but also because it is the key to developing our regional business in the Middle East,” said Claude Rufin, BNPI Beirut director-general. BNPI has regional expansion plans that evoke an echo of the bank’s past. After establishing itself in Lebanon in 1944, BNPI moved into Syria in 1945, Egypt in 1948, and Iraq in 1954. Because of regional turmoil, it was subsequently forced

Anthony Mills

M. Anthony Mills is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, as well as a scholar associate of the Society of Catholic Scientists. Previously, he served as associate editor of The New Atlantis, executive editor of Big Questions Online, and was a journalist at Executive magazine in Lebanon. Mills holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and writes extensively on topics related to science and philosophy.

Broadening horizons

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