Pressure to update the seven-decades-old Lebanese code of commerce was threefold. First, pressure to reform followed the decision of Banque du Liban (BDL), Lebanon’s central bank, to issue Circular 331 in 2013 to encourage investment in the startup ecosystem, as startups by definition entail innovative technology and development language that is foreign to rigid and…
The deterioration of human capital in Lebanon
Economic and social prosperity in a country is measured by assessing the standard of living of its people. Those born in a country with high levels of poverty and corruption have a higher risk of living in a state of deprivation and suboptimal prosperity. Those born to wealthier nations with a more equitable distribution of…
US sanctions Hezbollah lawmakers
Last month, the United States designated two elected Lebanese legislators and members of Hezbollah as terrorists. This was an escalation of the US measures targeting the party, alleging that Hezbollah smuggles drugs and launders the proceeds to finance its militia and alleged terrorism activities. Little more than two years since Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri…
Gas sector a catalyst for further cooperation between Lebanon and Egypt
The first six months of 2019 saw an unusual series of meetings between Lebanese and Egyptian officials, with energy cooperation at the core of these discussions. If memory serves well, the frequency is unprecedented. The option of resuming gas imports from Egypt was discussed extensively, especially during the first meetings of 2019. Lebanon previously imported…
Lebanon ratifies 2019 budget
More than seven months into the fiscal year, Lebanon ratified its 2019 state budget. The law’s passage comes after months of delay and deliberation over expenditure-saving and revenue-boosting measures in what is being dubbed the austerity budget, though more accurately is a reformist one. The 2019 budget is the third in three years, after more…
Lebanon needs a disaster policy for earthquake risks
Over the past 2,000 years, Lebanon has experienced over 13 major earthquakes. These tremors are a result of the country’s location within an active tectonic system called the Dead Sea Rift, which divides the African and Arabian plates. One of Lebanon’s most devastating earthquakes occurred in 551 AD, a 7.5 magnitude quake along the Mount…
Despite protests, Mansourieh power lines go live
On June 17, in Mansourieh, the last 2 km power line link went live in the 369 km, 220 kilovolt (kv) loop that runs from the south of the country up to the north, out to the Bekaa Valley, and connects Lebanon’s network to Syria. For 17 years, the government has been trying to close…
Exports must be part of economic growth strategy
Successive Lebanese governments have largely neglected the manufacturing sector. Policies were instead limited to a number of financing schemes, based on subsidized interest rates and several trade agreements with EU and Arab countries. Industrialists were left to contend with multiple challenges, including high production costs, inefficient provision of public services, and significant skills mismatch. Consequently,…
Lebanon’s long-awaited 2019 budget
A sobering reality emerges in the shadow of the long-awaited 2019 budget, declared by Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the most austere in Lebanon’s history. As a stop-gap fiscal rescue package, it falls short of the transformational budget, based on a grand national vision for debt reduction and upgrading of critical infrastructure that is sorely…
Lebanon’s new electricity plan adopted in the dark
The Council of Ministers approved a new electricity policy paper on April 8. Although this was a long-awaited reform, the Lebanese were expecting better governance and more transparency, especially in view of the commitments made at CEDRE. However, the government already seems to be falling short on its promises of reform, with no development of…