Beirut’s runway hotspot
Air transport activity is continuing to grow, with figures released last month by the Beirut Rafiq Hariri International Airport showing passenger numbers in Lebanon increased by 11 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of 2010. The total number of passengers (arrivals, departures, transit) reached some 3,691,000, reflecting the 16.8 percent year-on-year growth in total flights, which reached 43,360. The national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), constituted nearly a third of incoming flights with 12,545 of the total. Royal Jordanian followed with 1,932 flights, trailed by Etihad Airways (1,247), National Air Services (1,199), Emirates Airlines (1,168) and Turkish Airlines (994). The United Arab Emirates constituted the largest portion of flights to the country with 6,365, or 14.7 percent of the total.
In other airline news, Bloomberg reported last month that the governor of Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, Riad Salameh, has decided to indefinitely postpone the long awaited listing of a 25 percent share in MEA on the Beirut Stock Exchange. Salameh cited the Greek debt crisis and its ripple effects on Europe, a drop in oil prices and the lackluster performance of regional stock exchanges as the factors that dampened investor appetites for subscribing to new listings, and consequently led to his decision. MEA also announced last month that it signed an agreement with Brussels Airlines to serve 12 African locations via the Belgian capital.
Consumer price index advances
Figures released last month by the private Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) have shown that in the year-to-August the consumer price index (CPI) in Lebanon rose by 2.6 percent, despite deflation in the months of February, March, July and August. The Central Administration for Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s official body for statistics, however said that the CPI actually increased 0.8 percent in August, a main component of which was rising food prices brought on by Ramadan and higher global food prices. According to CRI, on a year-to-year basis total CPI growth came in at 3.2 percent, which is similar to the official figure from CAS of 3.4 percent over the covered period. The two institutions often give different results.
Satisfied students
Lebanese university students and graduates seem to be comparatively happy with the level of education they are receiving, according to a survey released by the recruiting agency Bayt.com. A total of 83 percent of Lebanese survey respondents reported a high level of satisfaction with the education they received. The figure was topped by only one other country surveyed, Pakistan, with an 86 percent satisfaction level. Only five percent of Lebanese surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their level of college education. The lowest levels of satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa were registered in Egypt and Syria with 51 and 52 percent of respondents, respectively, unsatisfied with their higher education. Lebanon took top spot in terms of those who were “very satisfied” with their education, at 38 percent. The survey also revealed that Lebanese expect their monthly salary to range between $1,501 and $3,000.
More big help for small enterprises
Funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has continued to expand throughout the first eight months of the year. Kafalat loans — government guaranteed loans to SMEs — experienced annual growth in numbers totaling 43.5 percent in the year-to-August. The value of guarantees rose by 28.4 percent year-on-year in August from $88.8 million to $114.0 million. The average value of loans, however, fell to $118,000 over the same period, representing a 10.53 percent contraction. Some 45.6 percent of the loans during the first eight months of the year went to the agricultural sector, followed by industry (37.7 percent) and tourism (13.4 percent). Loans to Beirut and Mount Lebanon accounted for 47.6 percent of all loans in the year-to-August followed by South Lebanon and Nabatieh (21.3 percent), Bekaa (19.0 percent), and North Lebanon with 12 percent of the total. Last month the European Union also granted 15 million euros geared toward SMEs to Kafalat and Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank.
Hotels hike profitability
Hotels are reaping the benefits as Beirut becomes more attractive to tourists. According to the global accounting firm Deloitte’s most recent report on hotel performance in the Middle East, in the year-to-July, Beirut posted the highest rise in average revenue per available room (revPAR), an industry measure of the hotel industry’s profitability. The rise represents the largest expansion in revPAR in cities throughout the Middle East at $164.90. That said, the occupancy rate at hotels in the city fell marginally by 2.6 percent to 68.4 percent in the first seven months of 2010. In the region as a whole, revPAR during the first seven months of this year has fallen by 8.8 percent to $120.40, with occupancy rates down 1.8 percent to 61.8 percent.
A ‘no’ from the WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has said that it will not meet with Lebanon for an eighth round of ascension talks until the country gets serious about the process. The reason for the delay in ascension was identified by the WTO as being the non-implementation of the required procedures in various ministries and the apparent disinterest of parliament in enacting the laws needed to join the global trade body. The WTO also noted that Lebanon has made some progress on the bilateral front with many countries but would need to focus further on negotiations with the United States, the European Union, Turkey and Ukraine. The organization also stated that 70 percent of Lebanon’s services are already liberalized.
The Arab hand that gives
A World Bank report on Arab development funding has said that Arab countries contributed more than double the level of their Gross National Income requested as aid by the United Nations, and five times the average amount the countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development put forward. The report covers the period between 1973 and 2008 and identified total development assistance from the Arab world over that period at $272 billion, equivalent to 1.5 percent of Arab nations’ GNI. The lion’s share of development assistance came from three Gulf countries, which together offered over 90 percent of the total. Saudi Arabia had the highest share of the total with 63.65 percent, followed by Kuwait (16.29 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (11.54 percent). Over the entire period of the study, Syria was identified as the largest recipient garnering $33.6 billion dollars. However, during the most recent period (2000-2008) the West Bank and Gaza received the most assistance at some $1.6 billion, with Lebanon coming in second with $834 million.
Auto industry rolls along
Lebanon’s Association of Automobile Importers has stated that the industry is still cruising at a steady pace. During the first eight months of the year, new car sales in Lebanon increased 3 percent year-on-year, while sales in August fell by 9.58 percent to 2,906 new cars. In the year-to-August a total of 22,545 new cars hit the roads of Lebanon. Japanese cars lead the pack with 38.3 percent of all sales followed by Korean cars (31 percent), European cars (23.7 percent), American cars (6.2 percent) and Chinese cars (0.9 percent). The leading brand in the market was Kia with 4,224 sales in the year-to-August.
Global gauge of Arab sovereign wealth funds
Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) hold 40 percent of assets under management (AUM) in the world’s top 38 SWFs, according to a report published by Institutional Investor magazine. The survey was compiled from questionnaires filled out by the institutions, information from websites, and annual reports. Total AUM at Arab SWFs was some $1.5 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year. The rankings included seven Arab SWFs and identified the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as the largest SWF in the world, with an estimated $627 billion in AUM. In second place in the Arab world came the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (third globally) with $429 billion in AUM, followed by the Kuwait Investment Authority ($277 billion, sixth globally), the Libyan Investment Authority and the Qatar Investment Authority, each with $65 billion (12th globally) and Algeria’s Fond de Regulation des Recettes with $53.8 billion (14th globally).
