Lebanon’s albatross

For sale: one national airline carrier that has lost $360 million in the last four years. Doesn’t make for a very appealing advert. Could there possibly be any takers if Middle East Airlines (MEA) isn’t first whipped into shape? The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the latest organization to be contracted by the Lebanese government to assess the air carrier and devise an action plan for the sell-off. Oddly enough the central bank owns 99.37% of MEA; it would like nothing better than to get rid of such a burden. Last July the bank signed a $1.3 million agreement with IFC to help it do just that. Reports have indicated that the study would take 17 months to complete. But the financing arm of the World Bank told Executive that the report could be finished much sooner. The plan seeks to find a suitable partner for the carrier and to