Fishing for phonelines
Lebanon’s telecom sector is set for a tumultuous month as the operating contracts of both mobile network operators Alfa and mtc are set to expire. Last month Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed to the press that a decision to renew the management contracts of Alfa, owned by Orascom Telecom, and mtc, owned by the Kuwaiti telecom company Zain, was anything but assured. Speaking at a press conference after meeting with the telecommunications minister, Mikati said that a decision to renew the contracts which were to expire on January 31 had not been taken and that the government was considering three options: renew the contracts with the same companies, adopt contracts with other companies or bring the sector back into the government’s fold. A new tender, however, would take between three and six months, during which time the existing contracts would be renewed, the premier said. Mikati also announced that a $47 million project to increase the number of available landlines by some 7,000 lines would need another two years to be implemented.
Beyond puppy fat
New studies released last month show a worrying trend among the Lebanese who seem to be piling on the pounds as the years progress. Research from a three-year collaborative study conducted by the National Center for Scientific Research, the American University of Beirut, Saint Joseph University and Universite Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, showed that obesity among children and adults has almost doubled over the past 15 years, thus increasing the risk of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, according to researchers. “Research has shown that diet in the first two years of a child’s life sets the stage for chronic diseases and other health problems later on in life,” said Professor Nahla Hwalla, lead researcher and the dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at AUB. According to the new set of data, which was collected in 2009, one in six children younger than 10 years old are now obese, while only one in 10 children under 10 was obese in 1997.
World Bank and IMF diverge in their gloom
Leading global economic bodies were seen to take a divergent stance on Lebanon’s economic prospects last month when the World Bank posited an estimation of last year’s growth twice that of its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund. According to the World Bank, Lebanon’s gross domestic product should have grown by 3 percent last year, while the IMF maintained a 1.5 percent estimation, a figure also touted by government officials. In the Middle East as a whole, growth in 2011 was weighed down by the effect of the unrest across the region, while higher oil prices buoyed the growth of oil exporting countries, which added $200 billion in revenues on 2010. Flows of foreign direct investment across the region, and mostly in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, were seen to have fallen by nearly 40 percent. Going forward the Bank added that the Middle East and North Africa is “highly exposed to an exacerbation of the European crisis, with strong and broad links through trade, tourism arrivals, migrant remittances, and to a lesser degree, finance.” The net effect of oil was also seen to be one of the factors weighing down growth this year with GDP impacts ranging between -0.8 and -1.2 percent for oil importers and -0.2 and -0.6 percent for oil exporters.
Inflation flummox
Figures released by different economic institutions last month point to a common theme, that prices are still on the rise. But just how much prices have risen continues to be a matter where no consensus can be reached. According to official figures from the Central Administration for Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the major indicator of inflation, rose just 3.1 percent over the course of 2011. The main drivers of the rise were prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose 5.8 percent and constitute one fifth of the weight of the total consumer basket used to compile the index. The only item that saw a fall in prices was transportation, dropping 2.6 percent. Many economists have criticized the government’s figures, which are relative to December 2007 baseline prices. Conversely, the privately owned Consultation and Research Institute which has been monitoring prices since the 1970s, said the CPI had risen 4.6 percent because of a rise in prices in every item except for housing.
Tourist numbers tumble
Figures released by the tourism ministry last month indicate that the country received nearly a quarter less visitors in 2011 than 2010, with 1.7 million and 2.2 million arrivals in those years, respectively. The figure represents the first decline since 2005 and 2006 when the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and a 34-day war with Israel, respectively, tarnished the industry. Arab visitors constituted 35.1 percent of all those coming to Lebanon while 29.3 percent came from Europe and another 14.8 percent from Asia. The nationalities that visited Lebanon most were Jordanians and Germans, both constituting 7.8 percent of total visitors.
Minimum wage up… finally
After months of political wrangling a decision to raise the minimum wage and salaries across the country was taken by the cabinet. According to two decrees issued by the cabinet, the minimum wage will rise from LL500,000 ($331.67) to LL675,000 ($447.76). Salaries between LL500,000 and LL1 million ($663.34) will receive a salary increase of LL200,000 ($132.67), while wages ranging between LL1 million and LL1.5 million ($995.02) will rise by a maximum of LL250,000 ($166.67). Salaries more than LL1.5 million can rise by up to LL299,000 ($198.34). Pay raises will be dependent on any other rises granted since the last correction of wages in 2008. The move comes after the finance minister reneged on his promise not to approve the measure until a long standing draft law on competition was passed. The labor minister has also refused to sign a third cabinet decree to increase transportation and education allowances because, he claims, it was technically illegal.
