Executive Magazine

Raising standards

by Thomas Schellen November 26, 2013

written by Thomas Schellen

The Syndicate of Safety and Security Professionals in Lebanon (SSSPL) and its member companies address two market needs. Fire prevention, detection and response systems are one central need; the other is for security systems such as intrusion alarms and access control and monitoring systems including Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).

According to Riccardo Hosri, the current SSSPL president, the syndicate’s main concern is “to become a label of quality” that will allow member companies to differentiate themselves as reliable providers of safety and security systems.

To achieve this, the organization has revamped its bylaws and is currently implementing a set of standards that member companies have to adhere to in their commercial, financial and administrative practices.

These standards oblige member companies adopt ethical practices, such as recycling, but they also include provisions against offering kickbacks or gifts in order to win contracts. The process of drafting and agreeing to the standards among all 28 member companies took two-and-a-half years as the firms are all in competition with one another, Hosri told Executive. “We are trying to work against human nature and put limitations on ourselves. But if we don’t do this, we don’t have credibility.”

When SSSPL was established in 1999, the organization had what appeared to be a defensive character. Globalization and the arrival of manufacturers from the emerging Far East in international markets meant that competition heated up, as opportunistic importers offered low-cost systems to the local market. Faced with the intrusion of what the founding members considered to be substandard quality, Hosri said they “came together to set some market standards and try to maintain a minimum quality in the sector.”

Educating the market

Efforts were poured into educating the target market, which according to Hosri initially greatly lacked awareness of the value of security systems so that it took months to complete a sale. This has changed and the market has become driven by demand, but competition from what they perceive as unqualified or unproven vendors is still a big issue for the SSSPL members.

To ensure that the market can distinguish competent local vendors from unprofessional operators, the SSSPL devised a process of accession and certification. To obtain a to-be-coveted “professional installer certification”, or PIC, a company has to first be a full member of the syndicate. Before granting this status, SSSPL requires that a new applicant has been operating in Lebanon for one year. The applicant can then progress to full membership in a process taking a minimum of another two years as a guest and associate member.

So many companies are interested in joining SSSPL that the organization’s ranks could increase by more than half. Hosri added that the syndicate is now preparing to admit new corporate members after the revision of its bylaws won ministerial approval in August. According to the revised bylaws membership will be opened to individuals, such as consultants and installers, and to companies with other security specializations, such as guard services.

That complex accession rules of organizations can turn into entry barriers is evidenced by the World Trade Organization’s recent history of what is euphemistically still called the Doha Round. However, there is an argument for a restrictive and perhaps even protectionist procedure given that the Lebanese state and its administrative organs have not installed any regulations and governance processes to supervise the quality of private safety and security. Since the security services and systems have touch points with sovereign responsibilities, the real aspiration of the SSSPL is to operate under a framework where a qualified public sector authority properly regulates, licenses and supervises the companies in this sensitive realm.

November 26, 2013 0 comments

Comment

Erbil booms despite blasts

by Riad Al-Khouri November 26, 2013

written by Riad Al-Khouri

Iraqi Kurdistan was tense end-September with the announcement of somewhat contentious election results, and the staging of a rare terrorist attack. Inevitably, the overall effect was to dampen business confidence. However, are these mere pinpricks, or more ominous signs?

Erbil doesn’t yet have that most accurate of all measures of business confidence, a sophisticated, broad-based, and large stock market. In most other places, it’s simple to gauge the state of the economy, just by looking at the bourse. Yet this will also be the case in Kurdistan next year with the announcement in October that NASDAQ is helping to set up a trading system for the Erbil Stock Exchange to start operating in June. Along with existing firms, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to trade shares on the bourse of new joint ventures with private partners in agriculture, tourism and industry. Estimates in Kurdish investor circles are that trading will begin with a daily volume of $4 to 5 million, and that around 25 companies will list shares on the Erbil exchange by the end of 2014. Of course that is tiny compared to other exchanges, but the prospects are good, thanks to massive amounts of oil on which Kurdish prosperity is based.

The Kurds estimate their crude reserves at 45 billion barrels, and are building an oil pipeline as a step toward economic self-sufficiency. Based on such wealth, coupled with stability, consumer confidence is much higher in Kurdistan than in Baghdad or the northern non-Kurdish governorates, according to TNS MENA, a market research organization that recently unveiled a study of the country.

Of the two parts of Kurdistan’s winning combination — oil and a stable political environment — the former is underpinned by continuing growth of production. The latest example came in October when a multinational consortium received approval from the KRG for the first phase in the development of the Atrush block, located 85 kilometers northwest of Erbil; this is expected to initially produce approximately 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) with the first output due by early 2015. Discovered in 2011, the block is operated by TAQA Atrush, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, which holds a working interest in the block along with the US company Marathon Oil, and others.

Approval by the KRG gives TAQA and its partners 25 years to recover resources. The group plans to invest more than $300 million during the first phase of the work, including drilling three production wells and constructing a central processing facility, while preparing to drill a fourth well. Subject to appraisal and KRG approval, Phase 2 development is expected to include another 30,000 bpd of production, while TAQA and its partners will also evaluate the feasibility of producing associated natural gas.

As for stability, the September explosions in Erbil — apparently the work of Islamist extremists — were the exception that proved the rule: since 1991, when the Kurds achieved autonomy, the region has been peaceful compared to the rest of Iraq. As such, the recent terrorist attack is seen as an isolated incident, not the beginning of major instability.

Meanwhile, the election for the regional parliament, which took place a week before the explosions, called attention to public frustration over alleged corruption by politicians in a healthy democratic way. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 38 seats in September’s vote for the 111-seat regional parliament, having previously held 30. The main opposition party Gorran (Kurdish for “change”) won 24 seats (compared to 25 last time) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which ran in coalition with the KDP in the last election but on its own this time, won only 18 seats, sharply down from last time’s 29. The results do not upend the domination of the KDP and its leader, KRG President Barzani, who is seen as having brought prosperity to the region. He has also been skillful in managing disputes with the government in Baghdad over territory, natural resources, and power sharing. Keeping this friction under control, and eventually resolving differences with Iraq’s central government, remain challenges for the KRG, but ones that can be addressed. In the meantime prosperity will continue.

Riad al Khouri is senior consultant at the Institute for Democracy and Election Studies (IDES) at the University of Jordan, Amman

November 26, 2013 0 comments

Business

Celebrity endorsement – a brand’s boon or bane?

by Line Tabet, Zeina Loutfi & Ramsay G. Najjar November 26, 2013

written by Line Tabet, Zeina Loutfi & Ramsay G. Najjar

Those of us living in Lebanon can’t but notice the recent profusion of ads featuring celebrities promoting different causes: actors and athletes encouraging people to drive carefully, well-known female figures supporting breast cancer awareness month and singers vowing to protect the environment. More recently, local corporate brands seem to have jumped on the bandwagon, with a partnership between a financial institution and a leading TV talk show host.

Celebrity endorsement has become a common communication practice: Every week we hear about a new deal, sometimes rumored to be in the seven figures, and the consumer landscape is now filled with celebrities plastered on billboards, magazines, TV ads and on our daily news feed on social media. The point is: celebrity sells.

Throughout the years, evidence has shown that celebrities sponsoring products is beneficial, especially in cluttered markets, to generate buzz and get people talking. However, as many brands have learned, connecting their image to that of a person can sometimes go horribly wrong.

Win-win

Celebrity endorsement is first and foremost a marketing tool used by companies to enhance their brand equity and increase their name recognition. Let’s take the example of Nike, an iconic brand famous for its consistent use of celebrities to endorse its wide range of products.

When Nike sponsored Michael Jordan in 1984 and Tiger Woods in 1996, the brand was still known primarily for sponsoring tennis and track athletes. By partnering with the world’s top basketball player and golfer, Nike succeeded in expanding into new markets. It created the subsidiary company “Air Jordan” in the first case and in the second, changed the perception of golf from that of an elitist game to one appreciated by and accessible to all.

As mentioned earlier, celebrity endorsement sells. In fact, from a pure marketing and sales perspective, associating a brand with a celebrity greatly influences consumers’ purchases. It is no secret that people look up to celebrities and do their best to imitate them, and one of the easiest ways to do so is by buying the products they seem to prefer. We all remember the buzz that surrounded the ad campaign for men’s underwear featuring David Beckham, which reportedly even caused traffic jams. More than just a pretty face, sales for H&M’s Bodywear line went up 28 percent after Beckham’s campaign this year, according to Selfridges, one of the UK’s leading retailers.

“Because I’m worth it” has become an instantly recognizable tagline, thanks to L’Oréal’s ads featuring a stream of celebrities endorsing each product. There may well be better products on the market, but who wouldn’t want to have the perfect complexion of Aishwarya Rai or the glossy hair of Eva Longoria? In fact, a celebrity testimony adds credibility to the product and ultimately increases sales and revenues.

Away from its mercantile dimension, when celebrities support causes through public service announcements, they succeed in drawing the public’s attention and raising awareness around important social issues. In the United States, the renowned “Got Milk” campaign, famous for its white moustache, featured athletes, musicians, actors and politicians, among others, all pitching in to shed light on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. In Lebanon, a leading NGO focusing on road safety launched an awareness campaign by featuring local celebrities including dancers, actors and media figures.

Potential drawbacks

That said, and despite all these advantages, celebrity endorsement can certainly go wrong, bringing significant harm to the brand’s image.

Let’s talk about Credit Suisse, Rolex, Wilson, Nike, Mercedes Benz, Jura, Moet & Chandon, Lindt, Gillette and Nationale Suisse. While this might seem like a random listing of brands, they do have a common denominator: the endorsement of Roger Federer. From here comes a major drawback of celebrity affiliation: overexposure. As the popular saying goes, “less is more”. In fact, when a celebrity is involved with a large number of brands, his or her credibility might suffer, which then reflects on the brands themselves. Consumers feel that the endorser is motivated by financial remuneration rather than promoting a product he or she truly believes in, which will in turn dilute the message the brand wants to convey.

Another problem is one of human nature. Image changes, celebrities lose their fame, people make mistakes and celebrities can go off script. When they do, it takes a toll on the brand. A brand can be seriously damaged because of an image gone bad: Nike had to deal with the Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods scandals, and recently that of Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic champion charged with murdering his girlfriend.

Another risk a brand faces when using a celebrity is that the consumer might focus on the endorser rather than the product itself. This is especially true when the brand and its recognition are not yet mature or well-established in consumers’ minds. This creates an overshadowing effect whereby consumers remember the celebrity and not the brand. Case in point: Very few consumers in the US and elsewhere seem to recall the 2005 partnership between St John, the luxury brand apparel, and Angelina Jolie, which lasted three consecutive years.

Getting it right

For many companies, celebrity endorsement seems to be the perfect communication initiative that can propel the product and the brand. However, given the risks and the price brands will have to pay in case of failure, companies should look into many parameters prior to investing in a multi-million dollar deal.

Is celebrity endorsement right for the brand? The first question to answer is whether celebrity endorsement is the right strategy to follow. Has the brand been established and rooted long and well enough in consumer minds that it would not risk being overshadowed by a celebrity? As an example, at a certain point, Rolex had endorsement deals with 24 golf players, seven tennis professionals, four equestrians, three yachtsmen, two race car drivers, a skier and a polo player. Never once has that eclipsed the recognition of this mature brand.

How to ensure the success of the partnership? If the answer to the first question is yes, then the company needs to set the right key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the partnership: What are the objectives the brand is trying to achieve by the association? What are the right measurement tools to assess the effectiveness of the endorsement in achieving its objectives?

How to select the right celebrity for the brand? At this point, selecting the right celebrity to become the spokesperson for the brand becomes critical.

Profile: Companies need to ensure that the celebrity is attractive enough to create a positive association with the product or service. Moreover, the image of the celebrity needs to be consistent and in line with that of the brand to successfully establish a strong personality and identity for both. Most of us fell for the obvious charm of George Clooney walking into a Nespresso shop to buy a machine and have his daily espresso. Yet beyond the seduction and wit of the ads, George Clooney also perfectly represented the image Nestle wanted to convey about this new product: dark, rich, refined and mature.

Relevance: When famous weight loss programs decided to team up with celebrities to endorse their products, they chose those who struggled with weight loss and who achieved their goals by resorting to the dieting plans offered by them. From here we see the importance of showing a clear relevance and association between the celebrity and the product and/or service.

Credibility: Selecting a global ambassador should be a smooth transaction, whereby the celebrity should not come across as selling the product but rather endorsing it for the various benefits and advantages it brings to his or her lifestyle. Indeed, many celebrities were the laughing stock of consumers when it was clear that their association with a brand was more of a business transaction. Drinking Coca Cola while endorsing Pepsi, using an Apple product when sponsoring Samsung, or even driving a Bentley when endorsing a Volkswagen are common missteps that negatively affect the brand and harm its credibility.

Opting for celebrity endorsement when the brand is just not ready or spending money on the wrong person can be detrimental to a brand. Not setting the right objectives and tools to measure success is another mistake when embarking on an expensive celebrity relationship. It is therefore essential that brands develop a well-thought out strategy before striking a deal, as the rumored seven figure numbers we hear about can become painfully real when brands have to pay the price for an endorsement gone wrong.

Line Tabet, Zeina Loutf and Ramsay Najjar work for communication firm S2C

November 26, 2013 0 comments

Special Report

Meeting in the middle

by Executive Editors November 25, 2013

written by Executive Editors

There is a lot of money sitting around in Lebanon and in the region that could be invested in startups. But in a landscape that barely existed just six years ago, investors are risk-averse, and the ones that do invest frequently ask for exorbitant amounts of equity. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs often expect investors to relinquish their money for too little of a product. Both sides need to make some concessions for the money to start flowing.

Managing expectations

While plenty of startups and entrepreneurs have sprouted in the past five years, one of the biggest reasons that relatively few are receiving funding is that investors do not always see a worthy caliber. “Not all entrepreneurs or startups deserve to be funded,” says Tarek Sadi, managing director of Endeavor, an NGO that supports entrepreneurs. “I think there was a huge buzz around entrepreneurship which was great because it brought it out there. But a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon and wanted to start businesses,” he says.

Starting a business is no casual undertaking, and just because there is a lot of money out there entrepreneurs should not expect funding to fall into their laps. “There’s lots of complaints that there is not enough funding, but I really think that there is,” says Habib Haddad, CEO of the business startup platform Wamda. “I’ve been an entrepreneur myself, and I recently became an investor [see box for Haddad’s story]. I know that a lot of entrepreneurs expect that if they have a good idea they expect funding. But it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat to convince investors,” he says. “There is enough funding, but [only] for the good [startups],” adds Walid Hanna, managing partner at venture capital firm Middle East Venture Partners. “You’ll see a lot of startups complaining that there aren’t enough venture capitalists [VCs], there aren’t enough angels. These are the second tier startups that nobody really wants.”

But while it’s fair to say many startups are still somewhat immature, investors have a sometimes overblown aversion to risk. Investors will write off early-stage startups in full, despite evidence through several success stories that these can be good investments if done smartly. Many investors even rule out technology startups because of the huge risk associated with them, despite evidence of the scalability of companies from this industry. Besides creating a funding gap that diminishes the deal flow, investors are shooting themselves in the foot by not taking these startups as opportunities. According to Haddad, investors need to dive into the opportunity presented by the still immature entrepreneurial ecosystem. “We take risks. It’s a completely risky game. The best thing of investing, in our opinion, is really identifying [which startups will succeed],” he says.

For the startup scene to get into its stride, entrepreneurs and investors need to close the gap between each other’s expectations. “It’s about entrepreneurs understanding what it really means to raise finance, and where to raise it from, who to raise it from. And for investors to understand what it means to invest in early stage companies, how to support them, and what it takes for them to be successful,” says Endeavor’s Sadi.

INVESTOR INTEREST

Because of the lack of investments being made, investors have mostly had the upper hand when it comes to bargaining power and often take unusually large shares of equity in new companies. “Sometimes a startup comes and says [they’ve] found [an] angel investor who wants 80 percent of the company,” says Bizri. “Of course, this doesn’t make any sense, but sometimes they don’t have any choice.”

“Even though there aren’t that many entrepreneurs or quality startups, there’s more of them than there are investors. So investors and the ones with the money are the ones wielding the power,” he adds. “As opposed to Silicon Valley, where if you’re a hot startup, everybody is running after you. Here it’s the opposite.”

Even venture capital firms, perhaps the most active institutional investment platform for entrepreneurs, are closely guarding the interests of their investors in fear that failure at an early stage might dissuade them from further investments in the VC space. “Imagine our first fund does not perform well. We lose our investors. They will not come back,” says Hanna, “and they will not invest in VC probably anymore. What good would this have to the entrepreneurship ecosystem? It’s disastrous,” he says.

Over the past year, more investors have come on the scene as they have witnessed success stories among entrepreneurs. Last year, says Hanna, “we were one of the active ones and the lucky ones because we kind of took advantage of the situation and we chose the crème de la crème of the start-ups. And we invested only in the best of the best. But if we had three or four different competitors that are active, the game would have changed completely. We would have competed together and we would have probably been forced to co-invest in the good deals,” he says.

Having more investors has somewhat democratized the market of late. “Some take high [equity], others take low. Some that have been active in the market for a while take more because they are used to being the only player in the ecosystem. But now that there are many investors, the transactional partnerships between the two are stabilizing. It still hasn’t been completely democratized. But something is moving in the right direction,” says Haddad.

Funding gaps

Despite the growing number of investors, there are important gaps in funding for entrepreneurs at the institutional level as growing companies require various rounds of funding throughout their life cycle. “Generally speaking it’s harder to get good investments in the early stages,” says Fadi Bizri, managing director at Bader Lebanon. “Those who get the initial money — it’s anecdotal — but they get it from friends, family, or this rich uncle or this guy.” He adds, “The government or banks or public institutions don’t handle that. Either you raise it through family — the first 50k, or you participate in competitions like the Bader ones or the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) ones. You get your seed money and you start.” This situation could change in the next couple of years, as various players in the ecosystem say talks are happening about the formation of several angel investor networks.

Venture capital funds in Lebanon, though still small, are an island in a sea of less institutionalized investments, and constitute probably the most active form of institutional investment. However the past year has been dry compared to 2012 since many VCs are growing new funds. VCs in Lebanon typically make investments ranging from a couple of hundred thousand to a million and a half dollars. Startups generally migrate to the VC space once they have a tested product, and are looking for subsequent funding and mentorship to grow. Berytech has a $6 million fund that invests in technology startups, through which they have funded around 15 companies. Middle East Venture Partners runs two funds: Middle East Venture Fund and Building Block Equity Fund, with an average ticket size for the region of around $700,000. Wamda also does early stage start-ups for ticket sizes of a few hundred thousand dollars.

But VC’s relatively active role has also seen them take on the roles of other funding bodies. “In Lebanon, VCs behave a bit like U.S. angels. In the U.S., business angels invest anywhere between 50k to a million dollars. And this is what a VC in Lebanon does. Same ticket,” says Hanna. “We’ve done seed capital, startup capital, series A. Even series B… Do we want to invest just 100k in a seed capital type of startup? Sometimes we pass on it, because it’s very complicated. They need a lot of hand-holding, a lot of time to be spent with the company. But our mandate allows us to do so, [although it] doesn’t mean that we like to do so. But we’ve done it several times,” he says. Filling in the gap in the other direction, Wamda, is trying to raise its ticket size to $1 to $3 million in the next year.

the next level

There is another gap: as a company grows it needs larger investments to expand, to the tune of $3 to $5 million dollars. “That’s where it gets stuck,” says Habib Haddad. “The good [startups] today are having a hard time finding a Series B funding round in Lebanon,” says Walid Hanna, managing partner at venture capital firm Middle East Venture Partners. “Our companies, there are 17, four of them are closing series B rounds, from GCC investors. Because Lebanese investors do not write a million or $2 million checks,” says Hanna. “You need more venture capitalist money at various levels. So you need the ones that are willing to put in the $1 million investment, the ones who are willing to put in the $3 million investment, the ones who are willing to put in the $5 to $10 million investment,” says Bizri.

With cash around, the future could be bright for Lebanon’s startup investment scene. But in order to head down the right path both investors and entrepreneurs need to build trust and start compromising in order to meet both of their desires. As the startup scene grows, competition will push entrepreneurs to mature their business plans, and as more investors test the waters, they will hopefully begin to take a few more risks.

November 25, 2013 0 comments

Economics & Policy

The rise of chronic diseases in the GCC

by Gabriel Chahine, Jad Bitar Pierre assouad & Samer abi chaker November 25, 2013

written by Gabriel Chahine, Jad Bitar Pierre assouad & Samer abi chaker

Rapid economic advances in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have improved living standards but simultaneously brought about an increase in public health problems prevalent in developed societies around the world. A wealthier population has adopted the sedentary lifestyles and similarly unhealthy eating habits of developed countries, with the younger generations taking the lead. The result is that more and more people are contracting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also termed “chronic illnesses” associated with prosperity, such as cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, and respiratory ailments. These illnesses have become the leading cause of death in the GCC, imposing $36 billion annually in healthcare costs, making NCDs a problem whose severity undermines increased prosperity brought about by economic development.

It is widely accepted that the complex nature of NCDs increases the consumption of healthcare services. Patients typically require diligent follow-ups by physicians and frequent contact with the healthcare system. Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, has dubbed NCDs “the diseases that break the bank.”

For GCC countries, which have been investing significant sums ($46.5 billion in 2010 and $49.7 billion in 2011) in their healthcare sectors, quantifying that cost is critical. It allows policymakers to alert citizens to the economic costs of chronic illnesses. Across the GCC, healthcare systems are devoting more resources than originally foreseen in order to deal with the five most common NCDs: cardiovascular ailments, malignant neoplasms, chronic respiratory diseases, neuropsychiatric conditions, and diabetes mellitus.

direct and indirect

The economic burden of NCDs comes in two cost forms, direct and indirect. Direct costs are typically those associated with the treatment of patients, such as consultations, medications, and clinical operations.

Direct costs, however, are just part of the problem. More significant is the indirect economic penalty of chronic diseases. NCDs reduce life expectancy, which means less output. In addition to the immense burden on the patients, NCDs affect their families, reducing their contribution to economic activity. Furthermore, chronic illness and shorter life spans deplete the quality and quantity of the work force. Labor productivity declines because workers are less effective and NCDs lead to increased rates of absenteeism.

At their current prevalence rates, the GCC’s five most common chronic diseases had total direct and indirect costs of close to $36 billion in 2013 — almost 1.5 times this year’s official healthcare budgets. This is based on calculations conducted in 2012 with 2011 data from the respective GCC countries. If governments fail to curb the rising direct costs associated with increasing outpatient and inpatient volumes and the rising indirect costs associated with loss of workforce productivity and rise in early mortality, the economic burden could nearly double to $70 billion by 2022.

The economic burden is unevenly distributed across the region, with different lifestyles having a clear effect. The highest economic cost is in Qatar, also the wealthiest state per capita in the GCC. The direct costs in Qatar in 2013 will be $416 per capita, with the indirect costs at $1,456 per capita.

The lowest economic burden is in Oman, which is still the most traditional society in the region. Omanis exercise more frequently than other GCC populations and the country has the lowest smoking rate. In 2013, the direct cost of NCDs in Oman will be $46 per capita, thanks to relatively few hospital admissions, and the indirect cost $392 per capita.

The NCDs that have the highest direct costs are cardiovascular diseases, which will account for 28 percent of all direct costs in 2013. When it comes to indirect costs, the greatest burden is imposed by malignant neoplasms, or cancers in non-scientific language, which will account for 41 percent of indirect costs in 2013.

Understanding the economic burden is an important step towards formulating policies to restrain this epidemic. Governments need to act rapidly to enact a comprehensive agenda that targets those at risk of developing NCDs and those already afflicted. The agenda must be systematic, not a series of sporadic initiatives. Similarly, while governments must take the lead, and coordinate the effort, they should also involve a wide array of public and private stakeholders to create the optimal enabling environment for lifestyle changes that will lower the incidence of NCDs.

time for action

The success of the NCDs agenda will come from a dynamic balance between short and longterm programs. In the shortterm, governments should limit the opportunities for unhealthy behaviors through financial incentives and disincentives. These include higher taxes on tobacco, which has helped reduce smoking in developed countries. They can set guidelines that favor healthy food in schools, an approach being adopted in the U.S.

Equally important are clinical screening programs for at-risk populations to obtain a better understanding of their health. For example, Abu Dhabi’s Weqaya [Protection] program screened 94 percent of Abu Dhabi nationals for cardiovascular disease. In the process, Weqaya found thousands of cases of other NCDs. Although this program has helped the population in seeking treatment and provided important information that can assist in national health planning, similar initiatives have yet to be established in other GCC countries.

Over the longterm, governments should aim to nudge their populations to change their unhealthy behaviors. They can encourage changes in individual behavior by providing specific guidelines for those at risk, educating those who care for children, informing adults, and raising awareness among health providers about NCDs. Governments should also reform their healthcare systems to further strengthen primary care and preventative care.

The private sector in the GCC also has means at its disposal to discourage bad habits and encourage healthier behavior among employees. To give some examples, companies have asked smokers to work one extra hour per day to make up for time lost on frequent smoking breaks. Other GCC employers are also starting to focus on occupational wellbeing programs to coach their employees on healthy lifestyle and injury prevention, offer physical exercise classes, and provide healthy food within their facilities. Programs to lower the risk of NCDs, and better manage them, ought to involve innovation and experimentation. With proper monitoring and measurement, successful schemes can be institutionalized, and lower impact programs curtailed. Though awareness of the impact of NCDs has been increasing, GCC countries should take more tangible action and appoint national NCDs coordinators to send a clear message to their population about the importance of NCDs as well as developing coordination across relevant entities such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

November 25, 2013 0 comments

Economics & Policy

A state of insecurity

by Thomas Schellen November 25, 2013

written by Thomas Schellen

Even as Lebanon has recently seen positive developments in its public security frameworks such as the deployment of governmental security in the southern suburbs of Beirut, events around the world, from Peshawar and Baghdad to Nairobi, were a reminder of Lebanon’s own vulnerability.

Longstanding questions include: What has to be done to enhance security at all sorts of public places which are soft targets for terrorists? Do private individuals have to rethink their personal security strategies?

Executive looked into the enterprise aspect of this new security focus, on the assumption that the current climate of insecurity must be good for the country’s private sector businesses which deal in security.

Focusing on the preventive and protective aspects of security Executive surveyed three corporate areas in which security is the core business: vendors of security equipment, guard services, and producers of armored cars used for personal protection. Quite expectedly, companies in all three sectors confirmed that they have seen growth in demand for their products and services this year. But growth was not exorbitant.

Representing the equipment vendors, Riccardo Hosri, the president of the Syndicate of Safety and Security Professionals in Lebanon (SSSPL) and deputy general manager of systems provider Sacotel, told Executive that his company saw around 15 percent growth in demand but added that it was regrettable how instability contributes to business growth. “The political insecurity helps. To my greatest disappointment, I have to say that it helps. I am not happy about it.”

Profiting from instability

Hosri could not put a number on the total market size or quantify the demand growth in the Lebanese market for security systems because an SSSPL project to gather market data is still in its infancy.

However, growth in the low double digits — between 10 and 15 or between 15 and 20 percent — was what most sector companies said they were seeing this year. At Mac Corp, an equipment vendor that just last month celebrated 20 years in business, chief executive Jamil Nassar cited 10 to 15 percent growth. Sami Zod, general manager of Zod Securities, one of the longest-established systems specialist companies with market presence since 1977, said growth this year was around 10 percent.

If this growth trajectory is below what one would suspect from the increases in security incidents and general threat perceptions in Lebanon, one main reason for the subdued development in the turnover of security systems vendors is that the companies’ sales are dependent not only on the fears but also on the economic fates of their corporate clients.
While there is increasing demand for security systems, the overall market is rather stable and there is a shift from automation and fire safety systems in favor of security equipment, Zod said. Nasser explained that his market for installations was driven up to 80 percent by new commercial and residential projects, citing a 2013-completed shopping mall with installation of about 500 CCTV cameras as an example. He added that he saw new demand over the past three years focused on CCTV systems and more recently on explosives detectors.
A campaign against continued use of unsuitable or outright fake explosives detectors has been spearheaded by Zod.

According to the systems vendors, tight purse strings at client companies create a counterweight to increasing corporate security needs. This is also felt by security agencies that provide guards and manned services. The market is “up and down”, said Mahmoud Hammoud, partner and managing director at agency Protectron. On the one hand he received many more inquiries about guard services and had clients call for more coverage, on the other hand he cited many company closures and intense competition as reasons why business wasn’t growing at higher rates than the 10 to 15 percent that the agency was seeing.

A lack of regulation

Price wars instigated by low-end providers, and concerns over keeping business growth in balance with operational risks and long-term viability were factors to be considered in accepting new client contracts, said Patrick al-Khoury, general manager and founder of Patrick Security & Services Agency (PSSA). He confirmed that the economic hardships experienced by clients had led to restraints on their security budgets and cited the example of a hotel where management had asked for a five-month discontinuance of guard dispatches up to the start of the summer season because of cash flow problems. Yet demand growth still was at 15 to 20 percent, he said. “People are getting more scared.”

When compared with the gloomy mood and demises of companies in parts of the hospitality industry the sentiment among providers of security products is cheerful. Company leaders showed no signs of worry over their future, whether they were providing manned services, low-voltage systems, or converting luxury cars into armored vehicles.

However, the Lebanese market for all these products and services is inherently small and the business of security in Lebanon is, as far as private sector activity goes, positioned between a craft and a trade. By its size and level of organization, information, and regulation, it cannot be regarded as an industry.

One common characteristic of operating conditions for all security businesses in Lebanon is the weakness or absence of regulation. Depending on perspective and business morals this is either a detriment or generates competitive advantages. Car armoring companies, for example, do not benefit from supervision by a domestic standard-setting body or from government support through tax breaks imaginable for the heavily export-oriented ventures. If, on the other hand, they don’t voluntarily restrict themselves from serving dubitable customers, car armoring companies are not encumbered by procedures such as having to provide an end-user certificate to ascertain that a buyer of an armored sedan or SUV is beyond suspicion of using the vehicle in a criminal or terrorist enterprise.

Quality supervision and assurance is also not something for which the systems vendors can rely on the Lebanese state or governmental entities. While the systems and equipment vendors in their syndicate have an umbrella organization that sees quality assurance as its top mission, the organization can easily be mistaken for a protectionist one that is preoccupied with shielding the market from unwanted competitors.

However, as SSSPL’s Hosri insisted, the syndicate and its members are in full support of competition “as long as it is fair competition”. In the opinion of Hosri and his peers, the Lebanese government is not doing nearly enough to ensure that the vital sector of security installations in companies and commercial or educational institutions is guarded against substandard providers only after a quick buck.

For the security agencies, it is non-observance of labor standards by dodgy providers that creates pressures. “Many clients will seek to bargain and say that a competitor offered the service for $700 where I asked perhaps $1,100”, said PSSA’s Khoury, referring to the monthly fee for a standard dispatch of one security agent on basis of manning the post 8 hours for 7 days a week.

As he described it, numerous shady operators — 30 or more versus five or fewer professional companies — peddle basic guard services and perhaps advanced services such as personal security detachments (PSD) without having the organizational infrastructure for an effective and secure service and without fulfilling essential responsibilities toward the guards they hire. When charging clients $500 or $700 per manned position, low-end guard companies can stay afloat only if they don’t pay social contributions to their employees such as National Social Security Fund dues and transportation allowances, Khoury explained.

In the entire segment of Lebanon’s private security, companies need better regulatory frameworks to improve quality and have more development options. Even more importantly, the sector will thrive only in the context of stronger public security and a more confident state. Citing Switzerland as an example Hosri noted that security industries perform best in countries with advanced economies and, perhaps counterintuitively, stable political environments.

Steps towards professionalism

According to Khoury, the serious agencies have a vision to develop the job profile of being protection operatives. A school or training academy for operatives could be created under government supervision but “to make this really work, the country has to be safe,” he said.
It is notable that the private sector operators uniformly welcomed initiatives such as the empowering of municipal police forces. Asked by Executive about the perceived danger that municipal police troops could have exclusionary tendencies, no private security operator saw a strong risk of that.

To the contrary, Zod, whose background is in armed services, reasoned that security works best when based on cell structures like a mobile phone network, and the best neighborhood policing is done by people with intimate knowledge of the people and areas they work in.

“That is why real security is by local police. I am for this plan by [caretaker Interior Minister Marwan] Charbel and I hope it will succeed by hiring good people and paying good salaries.”
The main addressable deficiency in the sphere of security overall seemed to be the lack of professionalism, evidenced most blatantly in the continued presence of fake explosive detectors at public and commercial sites. The friendliest assumption for this is that the managers responsible see the devices as providing some feel-safe effect. However, the imposing of security placebos comes with severe ethical and practical problems.

This is the kind of issue where the responsibility to regulate and act lies with the public guarantor of national security, the state. Private sector companies can assist in creating awareness, implementing preventive solutions and developing response scenarios, but their roles cannot go farther.

For a further positive perspective on the relatively slow market for security products and services in Lebanon, one can argue that reluctance by businesses and average consumers to convert their inquiries into actual purchases of security systems demonstrates a lower actual threat perception when compared with the talk of Lebanon’s impending slippage into disaster. The numbers suggest that the country feels safer than some say.

November 25, 2013 0 comments

The Buzz

Business briefing: 25 Nov 2013

by Executive Staff November 25, 2013

written by Executive Staff

Economics and Policy

Lebanon will close any illegal Syrian businesses after a nationwide survey on these enterprises is completed, a senior official at the Economy Ministry said over the weekend.

Reviewing the armor

by Thomas Schellen November 21, 2013

written by Thomas Schellen

Have you lately made any risqué appearances? Given speeches calling for peace with new or old enemies, offered daring toasts about the virtue of national unity, hugged your neighbor from a different sect, or made a proposal to strengthen the authority of the state, raise taxes or, unimaginably, have a new cabinet?

Luckily, one is not likely to get shot at for doing any of these things in Lebanon today. A company that sells bulletproof clothing in the Americas trumpets that this protective gear has become a must not only for “politicians in general” but also for war correspondents, traveling missionaries, university and school teachers (and students), business owners, convenience store clerks and taxi drivers.

One has to concur on high-profile politicians, business magnates and journalists in the field. When dispatching a team to Aleppo a year ago for an in-depth reportage and pictorial of the north Syrian city’s emerging devastation, Executive indeed had our team outfitted with ensembles of fetching green helmets and matching ballistic-steel vests.

But there was no sign of panic in Beirut this month that everybody ought to be wearing a bulletproof outfit due to excessive danger. When talking to university professors, industry captains, real estate tycoons, vendors of protective gear and owners of security agencies in the past weeks, the overriding impression was that no one had crossed the line into paranoia — the university professor had his driver as always, the captain of industry said he “didn’t change a thing” in his personal security, the real estate tycoon was relaxed in his office (but kept an eye on his wall-sized array of CCTV monitors), and the owner of a security agency asked in retort, “Don’t you feel safe in Lebanon?”

I had to concur that — with the exception of times of foreign invasion and recent threats of punitive but likely incendiary strikes — I have felt remarkable personal safety in Lebanon for over 15 years and still feel generally safe today.

However, there are pockets of doubt and concern — not least this week's bombing in Jnah — and I do not roam the country as freely and widely as I did five or 10 years ago. People say that there are a few areas they don’t visit anymore, or they share small stories about relatives made nervous by altercations that turn out to be nothing, and practically every taxi ride is garnished with exaggerated accounts of this vehicle that has been found with explosives or that guy who has been arrested for plotting the next terror attack.

But underneath the nervous perceptions and excited gossip is the reality that the country is more vulnerable today than in many years. A nuanced view of personal security suggests that it is time to review and possibly renew that armor of individual protection.

To support the task, here is a checklist of what the managers and operators of local security-related companies see as must-have basics and prudent options for a business executive who wants to maintain his or her personal safety at a very high level in these times, around the home, on the road, in public and at work.

Around the home

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

Information is the key to preventive security and often the decider in whether an attack or intrusion can be repelled. CCTV systems have advanced to the point that the more powerful ones can read the license plate of a suspicious car over hundreds of meters away; thus late-generation CCTV systems provide the first line of information-based defense against terrorist or criminal threats targeting your home. Prices are flexible, as a high-end dome camera retails for $4,000 and a good basic camera is about $500. Lebanese security experts told Executive that a well functioning home system with cabling can be purchased for around $5,000 but a discerning homeowner can easily spend $35,000 to $40,000 to envelop his villa with a top-notch system. The cool tech factor: You can monitor the live feed from your driveway on your smartphone. Social factor: You can show it to your friends.

Movable barrier / road blocker

This is a must-have if the threat level for your home is such that it includes suicide car bombers. A movable barrier prevents vehicles from smashing through your driveway gates and delivering explosive payloads up to or even into the building, where their effect is worst. Advanced level protection of this type comes at prices ranging from $10,000 to $70,000. Social factor: A heavy-duty barricade enforces the fortress look of a property and while possibly attracting attention from target seekers, it will also intimidate them.

Armored door

The external door is a crucial entry point to think of when protecting your home. An armored door will withstand most attempts at breaking it down. Wood look-alike or veneered entrance doors with reinforced core provide resistance to violent intrusions for a cost of $2,500 to $3,500. Social factor: The unobtrusive appearance means most armored specimens look as uninspired as any manufactured door.

Intrusion alarm

Sophisticated lock and key, and intrusion alarm systems are a baseline of property protection for any family of moderate wealth almost everywhere in the developed world and as vital as buying the homeowner’s insurance that often enough requires the installation of such security measures. Installation of a monitored system starts at a few hundred dollars but costs add up over time when one sensibly subscribes to a security agency that responds when the alarm is triggered. Intrusion alarms can be beaten in numerous ways by determined intruders and should not be selected as the only or main security measure by anyone at risk. Social factor: The ubiquity of intrusion alarms in crime-infested modern societies means the main protective effect of a burglar alarm siren on your building often lies in directing a criminal to an easier target nearby.

Shatterproof glass

Shatterproofing your windows is totally essential protection against the most common and farthest reaching impact of terrorist or accidental explosions in your neighborhood. A polyester film from a manufacturer such as 3M is affixed by a professional installer at a cost of about $15 per square meter (sqm) plus installation, making it one of the most affordable security features in the market. The safety film assures that the glass in your windows will not shatter when the blast wave from an explosion hits the building. Usefulness is not a question. Injuries from flying glass are an almost guaranteed fallout from bombs, whether targeted assassinations or terrorist attacks.

Bulletproof windows

A window with bulletproof glass offers a different level of protection from the security film that every window in and around Beirut should be covered with. For the exposed individual, or the person who feels targeted by everyone, installing bulletproof windows and frames at a cost of $705 to $1,000 per sqm may be a good investment. Social factor: freedom to take a fearless look across the million-dollar vistas of Lebanon.

Safe room

The piece de resistance in turning a home into a fortress is the safe room, the Hollywood-educated age’s equivalent of the keep in a medieval castle. The function is the same: enabling survival until the relief troops arrive. When constructing a safe room, it is time for putting in that bulletproof door, emergency supplies, and air purification and communications equipment. Elegance is not a priority and the cost is as serious as the strength of the ballistic steel panels embedded into the walls. A basic 6 sqm concrete safe room represents an investment of $8,000 to $10,000 but integrating a true panic room into a VIP home at time of construction will add tens of thousands of dollars in cost. Historic factor: Most keeps in European castles had a rather low success rate and the inadvertent death of at least one prominent Lebanese user of a panic room feature in his European home is established knowledge.

On the road

Armored car

An armored car is no Batmobile that protects against any imaginable threat, as Patrick Aouad of Beirut-based car armoring company Yaka Group told Executive. Sadly, history has proven this to be all too true but Lebanese experience has also shown in many examples that an armored car can save your life. From a certain level of risk, an armored car is a VIP’s best bet for road security. Popular makes include Toyota for SUVs and Mercedes for sedans but armor can be installed in a wide variety of models. Prices for armoring range from $20,000 for entry-grade protection to $200,000 for the best presidential armor, which is locally available. Social factor: No wow effect whatsoever is strongly advised. Armored cars should be as inconspicuous as possible and long convoys are out, decoys are in.

Bulletproof clothing

A bulletproof vest is standard wear for security guards, emergency responders in conflicts and any professionals entering active conflict zones. Importation and sale to persons in Lebanon is restricted to permit holders. If you are highly exposed and make public appearances, body armor will at times be a necessity. Besides the standard body armor, some producers have specialized in providing the market with stylish protective vests and other bullet resistant fashion such as leather jackets, coats and blazers. Cost for a protective garment should be from a few hundred dollars to $1,200 and may be well below what your Saville Row tailor charges for a double-breasted. Social factor: In discussion of your clothing brand you can expect a novelty effect as the label will be known only to the very few.

In the business, commercial and public realms

For the standard office environment the first lines of protection parallel the prudent home defenses: CCTV, armored doors and intrusion alarm systems are primary choices. For manufacturing sites and buildings with parking lots, perimeter fencing and vehicle entry controls are no-brainers. Access control systems can be beefed up to protect vulnerable and high-value commercial and business sites but their general role is mainly related to internal management of employees. For representations and country offices of exposed international companies, an established security recipe is anonymity, leaving the big signs in storage and even the corporate name off the well-armored and monitored door. A further range of items come into play in the commercial and business realm but also can be indispensable in private events and homes with large visitor numbers. They include:

Walk-through and handheld scanners

Airports, upscale hotels, shopping malls, event sites and public buildings around the world are routinely equipped with walk-through and/or handheld metal detectors or their descendants using millimeter wave or x-ray technology. Their use for security has steadily expanded since the first people scanners were installed at airports in the early 1970s and any global citizen who has stepped outside her/his home in the past 30 years has walked through metal detectors. Walk-through detectors sell for $4,000 to $6,000; handheld units cost $250 to $400. Main questions on use of metal detectors in many locales, including Lebanese ones: a) Is the machine switched on/in proper working order? b) Does the operator know what he/she is doing? Cool tech factor: nil for the metal detector family which is so 20th century; recent backscatter x-ray and millimeter wave scanners are being phased in for airport screening in many countries and demand growth has been predicted despite major controversies over both effectiveness and privacy protection of the pricey units. Social factor: increasing annoyance over intrusive scanning procedures.

Explosive vapor detectors and antenna-based “scanners”

Known to be perfectly incapable of detecting explosives and notorious for having been sold fraudulently at unit prices of up to $40,000, antenna-based swivel rod detectors were still in use in parking garages at several Lebanese shopping malls last month. Described last April as representing a $20 dollar value in court proceedings against their British marketer, continued use of the rods seems to be worth creating a reward for criminal stupidity, were it not for the risks that the device represents to the entire consumer population. Real handheld explosive trace detectors can identify the presence of bomb materials from particles or vapors. They have no antennas, swivel or otherwise, and their detection cups work but not by magic, i.e. their use requires proximity and time. An even better and more reliable sniffer, however, is the one with four legs: a trained bomb detection dog. Explosive vapor detectors are offered in the market for $22,000 to $32,000 and represent a vital addition to security equipment used at entrances of at-risk sites, especially those accessed by vehicles. Social factor: Knowing how to distinguish a real from a fake bomb detector has a high conversation value these days, in addition to being helpful in deciding which shopping venues and parking structures to avoid.

X-ray machines

The ensemble of threat detection equipment is not complete without an x-ray machine that scans handbags, etc. for weapons and suspicious objects. Advanced x-ray scanners sound their alarms for explosives as well as narcotics, in addition to weapons and items such as nail cutters and hair gels that were banned or restricted as carry-on items in 2006 because terrorists tried to conceal liquid explosives in hand luggage. With a history of being deployed in airports since 1973, x-ray machines are standard components of security checks in high-end hotels and government buildings. Although x-ray scanners are far from universally present in top Lebanese hotels and office buildings, local security experts recommend that exposed persons and establishments have them installed in their homes and businesses. Million-dollar investments into a battery of heavy-duty units are not a matter for normal corporate and event use. Chinese-manufactured x-ray scanners are offered online starting for under $10,000 for a small unit, but as with all security equipment bargain hunting is probably a false economy. It is better to get proper advice from an expert and always remember that the x-ray scanner is only as good as its human operator.

Under-vehicle inspection systems

The heightened awareness of car bomb threats this year has driven up demand for under-vehicle inspection systems. The simplest system is the inspection mirror mounted on a handle that retails for around $100, but the industry also offers portable systems that use cameras, as well as fixed solutions that are permanently embedded in a driveway. Software of advanced systems helps with identifying suspicious objects attached to the bottom of the inspected car. As always, heavy-duty equipment comes with higher expenditures, going above $1,000 for some handheld camera-based systems. Remember also, the most important part of the security system is the person holding the mirror or viewing the vehicle’s undercarriage on a screen.

Body suits and face masks

Another piece of protective gear that has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks is the full-face mask. When equipped with an adequate filter, a new full-face gas mask offers at least partial protection against chemical weapons. Sarin, the deadly nerve agent that was used near Damascus in August, can penetrate the skin and a full-body protective suit with face mask offers the most protection. But experts say that a full-face gas mask is a million times better than no protection at all. According to reports in Israeli media from May 2013, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised at the time that every citizen should be supplied with a gas mask; when people queued outside of supply centers at the end of August, government officials bemoaned that only 60 percent of the population had the equipment. Gas masks and filters degrade with time and old masks cannot offer protection. In Lebanon, which has an unknown quantity of gas masks in circulation, one can purchase a full-face mask for less than $200. If chemical warfare were to affect the country, a gas mask could be the best investment one has ever made. But it is crucial to have it handy and know how to use it.

Equipment prices cited above are based mainly on information provided by the security professionals Executive interviewed for this report, plus online references. This list was created with the intention to provide a quick overview of security instruments that can be of benefit to the Lebanese businesswoman and businessman.

To rank the items that top the list for cost-benefit, the items with the lowest unit cost — the film on the window and the gas mask under the desk — may be the most beneficial to invest in for both the wealthy among us and those of more modest means.

The list provided here is not exhaustive. For an exposed VIP it is advisable to have the services of one or more bodyguards and no technology can substitute for the skills of a qualified close protection operative.

Some of the highest priorities among the intangibles that no equipment list can cover include: A person at risk ought to rely on no single measure but on a network of measures; he or she should work with security professionals; security is positively correlated with discreet behavior; and it is paramount to never allow oneself to feel invulnerable.

The key lesson garnered from reviewing the development and setbacks of security in the past 40 years is that protection cannot be procured with cash alone. Security is an attitude.

November 21, 2013 0 comments

Economics & Policy

Why not to be a security guard

by Thomas Schellen November 21, 2013

written by Thomas Schellen

Lebanon’s security guards are a common sight, a standard feature of larger businesses and high-end apartments. Although some may seem to do little more than watch the world go by, the job is certainly no sinecure. It is a line of work that holds very few prospects and many agencies pay measly wages so that guards often struggle to make ends meet despite working a standard eight or even an extended 12-hour shift.

For the employers, the guarding business is also no fast track to amassing riches. Patrick al-Khoury, who leveraged his experience in the Special Forces of the Lebanese Army to set up Patrick Security Services Agency (PSSA) in 1996, gives the impression of being proud of what he does but says he is “not rich, not poor”. With a payroll of about 600 male and a few female agents — he estimates the number of female guards at about 2 percent in his workforce — he has substantial financial obligations to meet every month, whether his clients all pay their bills on time or not.

This year, the asking prices for regular guard services have come under extra pressure, Khoury says, because a number of guard agencies have taken on Syrian and Iraqi employees. These men accept relative pittance in pay and their employers don’t pay national social security fund contributions for them as their employment is not legal. The interior ministry is in the process of cracking down on these practices and removing foreign hires from the agencies, he adds, because “the law says strictly that it is not allowed to let a non-Lebanese work in a security firm”.

In the specialized area of event security, where agencies undertake risk assessments and deploy dozens of agents, earnings margins are tight. According to Khoury, who claims to provide event security to four out of five concerts and festivals in Lebanon, the event organizing and promotion companies drive a hard bargain and competition pushes the service fees down because of the positive public relations that protection of a celebrity performer provides to the agencies. As PSSA has been involved in security for high-profile events going back to Lebanon’s one-and-only Pavarotti concert in 2000, Khoury can present an ample timeline of photos, some autographed, with visiting stars as evidence of the job’s PR value and related perks.

A lucrative business?

When compared with event security, close protection services generate better profit margins. A bodyguard working as professional security detachment (PSD) to a VIP can make a multiple of what a simple guard earns per shift. However, the fees that a highly trained operative can charge for close protection in Lebanon appear still quite modest: He can make perhaps “$100 per mission but he cannot do a mission every day,” Khoury says.

Considering the high number of assassinations, attempted assassinations and other security incidents in Lebanon’s past, this seems a somewhat low compensation for a high-risk role and a far cry from something like the rumored $2.6 million annual bill that actor Tom Cruise is footing to have his young daughter surrounded by double PSD teams at all times.

The most lucrative aspects of the protective business for local companies are consulting services, which they provide to projects inside and outside of Lebanon. According to the firms interviewed by Executive, these services are provided based on the expertise that companies like Zod Security, PSSA and also car armorer MSCA have acquired in their many years of working in the security field. The companies advise on planning for corporate buildings, private residences, access routes and all the related needs.

The country’s hundreds of guards could probably benefit greatly from greater incentives, especially from better training, more recognition and a career path. As the heads of the industry confirm, the human element, beyond cameras and facial recognition software and innovation in detection technologies, is the critical brain of every security cell and structure.
In Khoury’s estimate, the private sector security agencies have a workforce of 5,000 to 7,000 persons. There is collaboration with the state in terms of things such as reporting employee lists to the Ministry of Interior on a monthly basis. Those involved in the sector see it as very feasible that the private-public security collaboration could be boosted and that the Lebanese workforce of private security agencies could receive enhanced training to achieve their integration into emergency response plans. If 5,000 better-trained agents are then doing their work in Lebanese private security, Khoury says, “These are 5,000 pairs of eyes working for the government.”

November 21, 2013 0 comments

The Buzz

Business briefing: 20 Nov 2013

by Executive Staff November 20, 2013

written by Executive Staff

Economics and Policy

Tuesday’s bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut will damage efforts to encourage investment in Lebanon, experts told The Daily Star, warning that another spate of deadly bombings linked to the war in Syria might be the last straw for the economy.