Fall of the factories

Lebanon’s economy is dominated by banking, services, tourism and real estate, but there are scores of firms working in the productive sectors that are fighting to hold their own in circumstances that can at best be described as challenging. High operating costs, decrepit infrastructure and a dysfunctional body politic are assured burdens for Lebanon’s captains of industry. While the enterprising and tenacious producers and traders within Lebanon are well attuned to this ramshackle playing field, 2012 has thrown some hefty additional spanners in the works. “We have reached an economic situation where we are stranded in the middle of a tunnel and there is no end in sight,” warns Mohammad Choucair, president of the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. “We are seeing bankruptcies and lots of companies closing down.” At the dawn of the new-year the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was predicting 1.5 percent growth for Lebanon’s economy