Last spring Hani Houssami, General Manager of the Saudi National Commercial Bank (NCB) in Beirut, was gearing up for a busy summer season ahead. Tens of thousands of Saudis were expected to descend on Lebanon and some $4 billion was earmarked for investment. “It was a dilemma for me to manage – a nightmare the number of people coming,” recalled Houssami. The July war changed all those expectations, with Houssami left with a headache of a different kind – a glut in Saudis tourists and investors as Lebanon struggles to get back on its feet amid political instability and a sluggish economic environment. But NCB, 79% owned by the Saudi government, has no plans to leave. “We’ve been here 52 years so we’re not going to pack and go – it’s a country we believe will re-emerge,” said Houssami. NCB’s decision to stay the course is not an exception to
