JULY 2012
EDITORIAL
COMMENT
Getting Beirut’s green back
Access to the Horsh reflects the clash between fear and progress
Ali Sayed-Ali
The formula to fill football seats
Fair offers and a good atmosphere open up the most paranoid of pockets
Thomas Schellen
ECONOMICS & POLICY
Beirut’s secret garden
NGO efforts may yet unlock gates to the capital’s hidden green space
Nabila Rahhal
BANKING & FINANCE
Iraqi intrigue in Lebanon
Bank, TV station openings tied to a man once funded by the CIA
Mohanad Hage Ali
Ratings removed from reality
Credit rating agencies cannot account for Lebanon’s unique economics
Natacha Tannous
REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT
SPECIAL REPORT: REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT
Q&A – Solidere’s Mounir Douaidy
Solidere’s general manager explains the company’s strategy
Maya Sioufi
View from the penthouse
Luminaries of Lebanon’s real estate sector share their thoughts
Executive Editors
SPECIAL REPORT: LEBANESE ARMED FORCES
The LAF – In Need of a Target
Lack of National Defense Strategy leaves Lebanon’s military adrift
Executive Staff
The LAF budget – closed ranks
Chinks of transparency begin to show in opaque budgets
Executive Staff
CONSUMER SOCIETY
The dangers of dining out
Lack of proper accreditation leaves restaurant-goers wary of what’s on their fork
Diala Ghalayini
A step short of democracy
Lack of political maturity inhibits Egypt from getting off the ground
Rany Kassab
COMPANIES & STRATEGIES
The oil importers’ albatross
Wardieh’s GM explains how industry is not to blame for high prices
Sami Halabi
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
LAST WORD
