Comment

“We are the 99 percent”

by Peter Speetjens
written by Peter Speetjens

Occupy Wall Street and the Egyptian uprising have more in common than it may seem, and surely much more than Washington wished for. Egypt seems a la mode in New York. For example, the protests were partly inspired by Adbusters magazine, which in July encouraged its readers to flood Manhattan with the battle cry: “Are you ready for a Tahrir moment?”

When American protesters, blocked by police from reaching Wall Street, decided to settle at nearby Zuccotti Park, little did they know it had only been renamed after a local property developer in 2006. Until then it had been known as Liberty (Tahrir) Plaza. These were not the first American signs of emulation of revolutionary Egypt. When the state of Wisconsin last February attempted to cut the salaries and benefits of government staff, tens of thousands of workers took to the streets under the slogan: “Fight like an Egyptian”.

Most Western observers, however, prefer to stress the differences between Occupy Wall Street and the Egyptian and other Arab uprisings. The former, they argue, aims for economic reform, while the latter called for political change. Hence, they speak of an  ‘Arab Spring,’ a reference to the 1968 Prague Spring when Czech citizens attempted to shake off the Soviet dictatorship. Implicitly, the term assumes that both Czechs and Arabs aspire for a Western notion of democratic freedom.

That is only partly true. Sure, most people prefer voting over dictatorships, yet the Arab uprisings, especially those in Egypt and Tunisia, were as much about economic justice as fair representation. Let us not forget that the so-called  ‘Arab Spring’ started over economic injustices: Following the confiscation of his vegetable cart, Tunisian street seller Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire at the main square shouting: “How do you expect me to make a living?”

At Tahrir Square, demonstrators not only called for the downfall of Mubarak, but also of people like Ahmed Ezz. Politically, Ezz was not particularly powerful, yet he controlled two-thirds of the steel market and was seen as one of the faces of Egypt’s corrupt and elitist economy. Interestingly, the ‘Arab Spring’ started in Tunisia and Egypt, both formerly state-led economies that — more than most countries in the region — bought into the West’s free market mantra over the last decade. State-owned assets and companies were privatized —generally ending up in the hands of the well-connected few — and then streamlined, resulting in massive layoffs. And while economists routinely pointed at gross domestic product growth as a token of success, the disparity between rich and poor accelerated year after year. Just as the Arab uprisings were not solely about political change, so the current manifestations in New York and elsewhere are not exclusively about economic reform. Yes, the Occupy Wall Street slogan, “We are the 99 percent”, refers to the pyramid-like structure of the American economy, as 1 percent of Americans earn 24 percent of national income and own 40 percent of national wealth.

Yet by referring to the majority, protesters also evoke the founding principle of democratic rule. “We are the 99 percent, and that is why we need a voice,” is the full slogan. The reality is fewer and fewer Americans feel represented by the two traditional parties, which both seem caught in a web of corporate interests and lobbying dollars; the situation is only slightly better in Europe. 

This sense of a political sell-out culminated in the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent bailout. While several banks were soon awarding major bonuses again, unemployment rose and people everywhere were confronted with austerity programs. In the minds of many it is all rather blunt and simple; politicians bail out the banks, and the people end up paying.

It would be a severe miscalculation if President Barack Obama were to define Occupy Wall Street as merely a call to rein in the malpractices of the financial system. As one protester in New York put it, “we tried voting for change, today we shout for change.” And tomorrow, if need be, they may well fight for it.

 

PETER SPEETJENS is a Beirut-based journalist

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Society

Book Review – In the Lion’s Den

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

Andrew Tabler’s account of his time in Syria between 2001 and 2008 is refreshing — relative to the reams of Orientalist trite other Western authors have published about the Middle East and North Africa — in that he actually spent years in the region getting to know the place, first studying Arabic and working as a journalist in Cairo and later traversing the MENA for the Oxford Business Group writing country investment reports, before eventually basing himself in Damascus.  Thus his offering, “In the Lion’s Den”, is neither ‘parachute journalism’ nor the story of a doe-eyed apple-pie eater struggling to make sense of an alien Arab fantasyland — the two most common categories of expat writing on the region. Rather, Tabler — a former contributor to Executive — is candid and observant in relating the challenges of trying to comprehend the vast complexities of a country like Syria.

The author has been accused of being naïve, in asserting that after Bashar al-Assad’s succession to the presidency in 2000 the country would move from autocracy to democracy, but what Tabler says interested him more was getting an “unexpected front-row seat to a fight”, pitting the young reformist Assad against the entrenched status quo of the old guard. He later admits some of his shortcomings in framing the situation as such; while there were superficial changes, it was clear after the first few years of the new Assad’s leadership that regime survival would always be the paramount concern.

Tabler was in a unique position to assess the touted reforms in Syria after a private meeting with Assad’s wife, Asma, and then working for one of her government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs), the Fund for Integrated Rural Development of Syria. This led him to start up, under the auspices of Asma Assad, the country’s first English-language magazine, Syria Today.  Tabler’s account of his meeting with the “first lady” is intriguing, as are the relations between Asma and her go-betweens at the GONGOs. Equally fascinating is Tabler’s account of being the only non-Arab and the first American to accompany a Syrian president on a state trip, to Beijing in 2004.

A criticism of “Lion’s Den” is it goes into no great depth about such encounters, or the running of Syria Today. Tabler also reveals little about his life in Damascus and travels around the country. A possible explanation for this may be that the book was intended both as a memoir and a dovetail into future career aspirations — Tabler’s current employer is the neoconservative Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy think tank.

Much of the book consequently concerns Syria’s relations with Lebanon, Iraq and Israel, and America’s resultant foreign policy with Damascus. This ranges from Western hopes of engaging Assad to bring Syria ‘in from the cold’ — primarily through solving the Arab-Israeli conflict — to problematic relations after the Bush administration labeled Syria part of the ‘Axis of Evil’ and Damascus’ apparent reluctance to prevent fighters crossing its border into Iraq following the 2003 United States invasion. Relations soured further following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, leading the US to withdraw its ambassador to Syria and Damascus entering into a strategic alliance with Tehran. The account of the ongoing tussle between Damascus and Washington is succinct and bipartisan, providing a useful primer on bilateral relations.

Tabler chose to write the book after he was not allowed back into Syria in 2008, due to his increasingly vocal criticism of the regime. Published in September, Tabler could not have asked for a more opportune moment for the release, given the international media attention on the Syrian uprising, and he has capitalized on this in the epilogue in arguing how Assad and the regime should be handled by Washington. While Tabler may have been taken in by Assad’s veneer of reform a decade ago, “In the Lion’s Den” resounds as an impeachment of the Syrian leadership and a call for even tighter international sanctions to bring the regime to account.

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Welcome to the waking nightmare

by Farea al-Muslimi
written by Farea al-Muslimi

“Yemen is on the verge of a true, deep humanitarian disaster,” were the words late last month of Geert Cappelaere, representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country. Even in this country with a history struggling through strife and conflict, the current situation is accelerating into a catastrophe without precedent.

A third of Yemenis go to bed hungry — roughly 7.5 million people — while half of all children under five-years-old suffer from chronic malnutrition and half the population lives in deep poverty. The World Food Program (WFP) warned that it needs $56 million for its operations this year in Yemen — equal to around one third of American military assistance to the Yemeni government in 2010.

While millions of Yemenis are unable to sleep for hunger still more are kept awake by the increasingly bitter civil war. Heavy explosions and bombings continue in Sanaa and other major Yemeni cities as pro and anti-regime forces continue to battle for control. 

In the capital electricity is off for more than 23 hours per day, meaning those lucky enough to still have jobs are often unable to work; produce and perishables rot in grocery stores and the idle refrigerators in people’s homes. Sanaa becomes a ghost town once night falls, with regime forces opening fire on civil protesters with alarming regularity. A recent and unnerving trend has also emerged in the targeting of protesters: security forces have begun kidnapping young people — including the injured — from protests and holding them in hidden prisons, according to the National Organization for Defending Rights & Freedoms.

Outside of Sanaa the WFP has reported that more than half a million Yemenis have been displaced since the beginning of the uprising in January. In the Abyan Governorate in Southern Yemen alone, where many of the fiercest clashes between military forces and Islamic extremists have taken place, more than 100,000 people have fled their homes; most have taken refuge in some 50 school buildings in the neighboring governorate of Aden. Already by the beginning of the summer more than 2,400 people had been killed and more than 20,000 injured, according to a July report by Abaad Studies and Research Center, a Yemeni non-governmental organization and think tank.

All aspects of the humanitarian disaster and escalating violence are being exacerbated by the absence of any semblance of a functioning government and the grinding political deadlock. The continued refusal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power makes it hard to imagine how the situation can improve in the coming weeks.

Yet the world continues to look the other way. On October 21, The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 urging President Saleh to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative calling for a transition of power as soon as possible. The vote, which was discussed for a little under two minutes, is a clear sign of how little import the international community is giving Yemen and its people — something the world will regret if, and more likely when, Yemen explodes into full blown conflict. The UN resolution gave Saleh another 30 days before the Security Council would meet again to discuss the situation. What the bureaucrats failed to grasp was that in 30 days there might be no Yemen left to discuss. 

Instead of becoming a new Tunisia or Egypt where — with international support — legitimate protests gave way to democratic elections, Yemen is increasingly likely to become the new Somalia, going the way of failed states. The continued support of much of the international community, including crucially Saudi Arabia, for President Saleh will only drive the country further down the road to ruin. The unbelievable will of the Yemeni people to persevere through the crises they have confronted this year is a rare and beautiful thing. However, if the world continues to ignore Yemen and refuses to step in to halt its complete dissolution, no one should be surprised by the waking nightmare that will ensue.

 

FAREA AL-MUSLIMI is a Yemeni activist and writer for Almasdar

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Society

Q&A – Omar Chaoui

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

Roger Dubuis (RD) is a Geneva-based horology manufacturer that specializes in luxury watches and was acquired in 2008 by the Richemont group. It sells its products through distributers in the Middle East but plans to open retail stores in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) soon, its first in the region. Executive sat with Omar Chaoui, regional brand manager of RD, for a chat about fine timepieces and regional prospects.

E  How did the 2008 financial crisis change the watch industry?
The crisis has taught us that today, as an industry, we need to provide something that has a genuine value, as we are no longer in the euphoric years between 2002 and 2008 when people were over-consuming. Consumers now want inner value and this has led brands to refocus their offering and for distributors to refocus on their portfolio of brands.

Over the past two to three years, brands within the industry have gone back to more discrete watches. Today, consumers don’t buy a watch because it is big and visible and has a cheap or dull mechanism. Today, when consumers buy a $50,000 watch they want $50,000 worth of watch, so they want the finest material, the best possible movement and they want a watch that they can wear today, 10 years and 20 years from now.

E  How does your brand fit in the portfolio of brands offered by Richemont?
We are the avant-garde traditional watchmaker. We are avant-garde in terms of design and 21st century brand but we are traditional in the sense that we are the only brand in the world that offers Poinçon de Genève (Seal of Geneva) 100 percent manufacturing in all of our watches. We are the fastest growing brand in the Richemont portfolio.

We feel that what we sell is not just a watch. If you want to know what time it is, you can look at your phone or the clock in your car. What we are selling is the demonstration that you, as an individual, appreciate the finest form of watch making. We are selling [the right to] belong to a closed club of connoisseurs and dandies. When you enter the RD boutique, you get the full experience. We call our employees watch advisers, not sales people, as they are genuinely passionate about watch making and in love with what the brand represents. They are here to share a passion with you, enjoy a drink with you and have a chat and if you want to buy a watch, they are happy to assist you.

E  What are your strongest areas of growth geographically? And have you seen any impact from the turmoil in parts of the Middle East? Are you going to open a store in Beirut?
The Asiatic region is the fastest growing market. The Middle East is also growing fast. We have faced a significant drop in sales in Egypt and Bahrain due to the unrest in these countries but the rest of the region is doing great. In Lebanon we are growing tremendously, as well as in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We might consider opening a boutique in Beirut in the future when the opportunity arises and we find a right location. Today, we are looking at opening a couple of boutiques in the UAE, our first stores in the Middle East.

E  What does your client drive?
He would drive a TVR or a Wiesmann because it is rare, it is automobile to its core and it is genuine car making.

E  Who are your competitors in the Middle East?
It is quite a tough question because we don’t compete just with watches. We compete with cars, apartments and art. When you reach a certain price point, consumers will not necessarily be choosing between two watches but between a watch, a piece of art or a two week holiday.

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Dithering in Damascus

by Jihad Yazigi
written by Jihad Yazigi

The Syrian government’s September 22 decision to impose a ban on all imports carrying a tariff rate of 5 percent or more — and the reversal of that measure less than two weeks later — have created a crisis of confidence across the local business community and a sense that the authorities have little idea how to handle the country’s economic woes.

Seven months of popular protests across Syria have taken a significant toll on business activity, frightening off investors and tourists, enticing locals to stash their savings and leading to international sanctions on key sectors and actors in the economy. The confusion over the import restrictions has only reinforced a general feeling of malaise and darkened the prospects for the near future.  This partial ban, Syrians were initially told, would help save scarce foreign currency reserves and support local manufacturers who had been negatively affected by the free trade policies of the past decade. In press statements, Adib Mayaleh, governor of the central bank, claimed that the ban would generate $6 billion in annual foreign currency savings, $4.5 billion of which would come from car imports alone.

However, the government acted hurriedly and with little consultation, leading to a general outcry that forced it to reverse the measure on October 4. The strength of the opposition from the business community and the fact that it managed to deal a blow to the government and its credibility — already much affected by its dismal management of the economy in recent months — are a reflection of the changes that have taken place in the Syrian economy in the last decade.

While until the late 1990s Syria relied on local production and was largely closed to international trade, the need to attract foreign investors and to integrate more with the outside world saw a gradual easing of the country’s protectionist policies from the early 2000s.

The Greater Arab Free Trade Area agreement, which liberalized trade among the 18 member countries, came into force in 2005 and a free trade deal with Turkey was established in 2007. Tariff duties on imports from countries around the globe were also lowered, including for consumer items such as cars and garments.

This policy had a direct consequence on the structure of the economy: in 2000, imports represented the equivalent of 18 percent of GDP, rising to 26 percent by 2009; exclude inflation over the past decade and this number would be 46 percent. Meanwhile, bilateral trade with Turkey tripled in less than four years, from $800 million in 2006 to $2.5 billion in 2010. This boom in imports helped spur the development of broad sectors of the economy — including retail trade, banking, insurance, transport and logistics and commercial real estate — which were among the main contributors of economic growth in the last decade. A whole new category of businessmen, from wholesalers to local agents of international brands, saw their wealth jump and their influence increase.

Thus, it is not surprising that among the list of more than a dozen businessmen that have been put under sanctions by the European Union and the United States in the last few months one will find Emad Ghraiwati, the agent for Kia, Ford and Jaguar cars and for LG Electronics, Samir Hassan, partner of Lebanon’s Fattal Group in the consumer goods distribution company UniSyria and Tarif al-Akhras, one of the country’s largest importers of food commodities.

Still, the confusion over the import ban has raised all sorts of questions. Until now the government had claimed that its foreign currency position was stable and had not been affected by the political turmoil. If this is the case then why did it decide to impose a cap on imports in the first place? Now that import taxes have been liberalized again, where is the government going to find the $6 billion in savings? Also, if the measure was initially aimed at helping local manufacturers does its reversal mean that the priorities have changed?

The only certainty that has come out of this debacle is that the government has no strategic plan to rescue Syria’s floundering economy.

 

JIHAD YAZIGI is editor-in-chief of The Syria Report

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Economics & Policy

Where politics becomes personal

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

The government’s endorsement of a plan to increase the minimum wage from LL500,000 ($333) to LL700,000 ($467), accompanied by salary hikes for those earning up to LL1.8 million ($1200), gave rise to a fierce cacophony of debate. The claims and counterclaims pit different interest groups against one another, with arguments that the government has gone too far, not gone far enough or simply gone the wrong way.

The impassioned reactions are predictable for the simple reason that this policy will directly line and lighten the pockets of employees and their employers, respectively.

The worker

Iktimal Halawi, an English teacher in an intermediate level school in Nabatiyeh, earns a monthly salary of LL580,000 ($387).

“This is absolutely insufficient for us to live off,” she says. Iktimal argues the minimum wage does not amount to a living wage, adding that, “We can say now we are already living at the minimum level.”

Halawi stands in a more fortunate position than many other employees on similar earnings. Her husband is an employee in a bank and takes home some LL1 million ($667) every month. The family home — where they live with their three young children — was also built before they were married, sparing them the burden of rent. “If we had to pay rent I really don’t know how we would live,” adds Halawi. Nonetheless, she claims it is a constant struggle to balance the books without dipping into the red.

Food bills alone consume nearly half of their monthly income and then they pay LL100,000 ($67) for electricity, LL70,000 ($47) for phones, LL250,000 ($167) for gasoline, LL150,000 ($100) for school transport and LL150,000 ($100) in school fees. Consumer goods are almost always purchased on credit and they currently pay LL100,000 ($67) every month towards their TV and washing machine. This leaves them with little left over for unforeseen expenses such as household repairs or medical expenses.

“If something unexpected happens then we have to take a loan from friends or family in order to manage,” says Halawi. “We depend a lot on friends and family and the extended community.”

Whilst low-income employees understandably call for a rise in their pay packets, many business owners have been quick to argue that the stipulated rise in wages will increase unemployment, thwart growth and exacerbate Lebanon’s already high rate of inflation.

The employer

Hussein Sabaagh opened his restaurant, Istambuli, in Hamra, Beirut in 1970. He rode out the tumultuous years of the civil war and then enjoyed a relatively successful period, but he is now struggling to keep afloat. “I cannot afford to pay them anything extra,” argues Sabaagh about his team of staff. 

He says his monthly payroll expenses amount to LL30 million ($20,000), approximately 30 percent of his operating costs that also include LL2 million ($1,333) for electricity, LL1.25 million ($833) for rent and LL45 million  ($49,333) for food and drink.

“There are no profits, only losses,” sighs Sabaagh, but he would only elaborate as far as saying; “let’s just say times are hard.”

Amongst his staff he has five employees on minimum wage and the highest paid member of staff takes home LL1.5 million ($1000) every month. As such all of Sabaagh’s employees will be affected by the new wage legislation, which stipulates an increase of LL200,000 ($133) for those earning less than LL1 million and an increase of LL300,000 ($200) for those earning between LL1 million ($667) and LL1.8 million ($1,200). He argues that enforced wage increases would result in him having to close the business; his staff would not be earning more but rather they would be unemployed.

Sabaagh says he believes that it would be near impossible to recoup the extra costs incurred by charging his customers higher prices because they are already too high. 

“The food is already expensive, if I increase the prices then who is going to come and pay?” he asks.

The informal sector

Whilst the calculations regarding a rise in the minimum wage by low-income employees and their employers are relatively straightforward, the considerations for those working in the informal sector are no so clear-cut.

“This talk of increasing the minimum wage is a sin. You enter into a vicious circle; you take the increase but you have to pay for it because prices also rise, so in the end your standard of living doesn’t increase,” argues one low-paid worker who wanted to remain anonymous.

As an employee in a printing press that is not registered with social security his employment is off the record, and consequently his income of LL1.5 million ($1,000) per month is out of the purview of the state. His wife, who also asked not to be named, works as a house cleaner.

“I can take between $30 to $35 (LL45,000 to LL52,500) in a day but I won’t benefit [from an increase in the minimum wage] because I am self-employed,” she points out.

The couple claim their combined income is just enough to cover essential expenditures for their life in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Their primary concern is that an increase in the minimum wage will translate directly into a rise in prices. As they would not be protected by any stipulated wage increases, a hike in prices would in real terms amount to a fall in their standards of living. The inflationary pressures of a higher minimum wage are clearly a concern for policy maker and house cleaner alike. 

Her  husband agrees that it is important to increase the standard of living for low-income earners, but frets that a higher minimum wage would actually harm many of the most vulnerable members of society. As an alternative method to ease the financial burden felt among the poor and vulnerable he argues for a more progressive tax system: “Get rid of the indirect taxes such as the taxes on petrol or other fuels.  Someone who earns millions of dollars pays the same for a tank of petrol as me.  There should be more direct taxes on people’s incomes.”

The government

As with any new laws it is their enforcement that determines whether they will have any meaningful impact. This is not an issue with regards to the public sector in the case of the new minimum wage legislation, but the state’s ability and determination to enforce the new wage levels in the private sector is not so clear. 

“There are lots of companies now that are not paying the minimum wage,” says the printing press worker. “You can take or leave the wages because there are plenty of others who will take your place.”

Sabaagh, from Istambuli Restaurant, reasons that the problem is not just a case of ineffective government enforcement but also an unhealthy and distrusting relationship between the citizen and the government. 

“In other places the citizens are loyal to the state and the state is loyal to the people and therefore there is honesty,” he argues, before later adding, “sometimes when you are honest it is like grabbing hold of burning embers.”

In view of these conflicting interests it is little surprise that the government was berated from all quarters when it unveiled the new minimum wage legislation. With business leaders and various factions of the labor movement challenging the proposals, albeit for different reasons, the lawmakers seem to have made few friends with the new wage proposal.

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Uprising incomplete

by Jonathan Wright
written by Jonathan Wright

If Arabs used acronyms and abbreviations, Egyptians would be drowning in alphabet soup. With dozens of political parties registered, uniting in a bewildering array of fronts and alliances and then splitting at the last minute as member parties fall out over how to share parliamentary seats, Egyptians will have to navigate their way through a labyrinth of confusing names when they start voting in parliamentary elections on November 28.  As the deadline for nominations loomed, many alliances had still not stabilized and more and more parties decided to stand alone, even at the risk of ending up with few seats. No good opinion polls have come out in recent weeks, but Muslim Brotherhood candidates did perform well in elections for the Doctors’ Syndicate in October, suggesting the movement is still strong in professional middle-class circles.

Political fragmentation is only to be expected after the January uprising opened the floodgates to pluralism; in the first elections in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco, more than 60 parties were on the ballot, though only six of them ended up with more than two percent of the popular vote. In the case of Egypt, other factors have contributed to a widespread sense of uncertainty and an atmosphere conducive to conspiracy theories, especially the indecisive and unimaginative performance by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been running the country since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11.

The generals have alienated liberals and leftists by their law-and-order mentality and their reluctance to adopt the revolutionaries’ agenda, especially on human rights issues such as ending military trials for civilian protesters. The slogan: “The people want to overthrow the field marshal (interim head of state Mohamed Hussein Tantawi)” is common at the dwindling demonstrations. The generals’ refusal to allow an independent external inquiry into the killing of 25 people, mostly Coptic Christian protesters, outside the state television building on October 9, has added to the disenchantment among the politicized elite. Despite overwhelming evidence that armed thugs initiated the attacks on the Christian protesters, leading to deadly clashes between the Christians and the army, the military council has thrown no light on who the thugs might have been or who might have mobilized them. The generals have also done nothing so far to meet demands that members of Mubarak’s disbanded National Democratic Party be disqualified from standing in the elections, despite repeated reports that the military council is about to issue a decree addressing that demand. The NDP’s many opponents naturally suspect the generals have a secret agenda to preserve as much of the old regime as they can.

Even the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, generally seen as more sympathetic to the generals, have put the military on notice that they must give way to an elected civilian government as soon as possible. The economy is stagnant as tourists and foreign investors stay away, worried by the political instability and the sporadic incidents of civil unrest, which the demoralized police force is unable or unwilling to prevent. Even if the parliamentary elections go smoothly and produce a new cabinet with a popular mandate, the generals plan to stay around until the parliament approves a new constitution and presidential elections take place, possibly in late 2012 or early 2013. Then another battle will loom — over how to subject the military to permanent oversight by civilian politicians who owe the army no special favors. For 60 years the Egyptian military has been immune from scrutiny. Parliament never saw or approved its budget and did not have the authority to investigate its extensive business dealings, which helped to make many generals very wealthy men. The head of state came from within the military establishment and had no incentive to change the system. That will have to change if Egyptians finally have an elected civilian leader who wants to govern the whole country and turn Egypt into a modern democracy.

But as the Turkish example has shown, taming a powerful military with a history of political influence behind the scenes can be the work of a generation. And as in Turkey, perhaps only a popular movement from an Islamist background will be capable of clipping the military’s wings without provoking the generals back into politics.

 

JONATHAN WRIGHT is managing editor of Arab Media and Society

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Economics & Policy

For your information

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

Low growth, higher debt

The prospects of a second-half economic rebound appear dimmer than ever as Lebanon rounds out the third quarter, with predictions for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2011 from several economic institutions looking grim. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the country’s economy will expand by just 1.3 percent, representing a drastic drop in anticipated growth, from 4.6 percent in April. The EIU maintained its 3.6 percent GDP growth outlook for 2012. The agency cited several reasons for the revision, including the usual political instability in the country and elsewhere in the region. The report stated that while it believed reforms would occur due to relative accord within the cabinet, they would be slow to take effect as corruption, patronage and an over-bloated public sector prevent further economic growth. Barclays Capital also predicted economic growth in 2011 to come in at just 1.8 percent because of spillover effects from the Syrian uprising and a weakening services sector. Barclays said that the deficit this year should stay at around 7.6 percent of GDP, but a 15 percent expected increase in expenditures next year will have a harrowing effect on debt dynamics as the predicted deficit widens to 8.5 percent. The International Monetary Fund  (IMF) also weighed in with a projected growth figure of 1.5 percent, granting Lebanon the honor of the 16th slowest growth rate in the world. The IMF said that in the region Lebanon would come ahead of just Egypt and Tunisia in growth rates. Standard Chartered Bank also revised its previous 3 percent growth forecast downward to 1.5 percent.

Lebanon a little less risky

Lebanon has marginally improved its risk profile, if only in comparison to the rest of the Middle East. According to Euromoney magazine, Lebanon ranked 82nd out of 184 countries in terms of its risk profile and 11th out of 20 in the region. The rank is a 10-spot improvement on the June 2011 global rankings and represents the biggest leap in the region. The rankings were based on six weighted indicators: political risks (30 percent), economic performance (30 percent), access to bank finance and capital markets (10 percent), debt indicators (10 percent), credit ratings (10 percent) and a structural assessment (10 percent). Political risk declined by 1.3 percent since June, while Lebanon’s access to bank finance and capital markets rating increased by a whopping 288.7 percent.

Sharpening the stats

In an attempt to partially rectify the endemic lack of credible and timely data, the Central Administration for Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s public bureau of statistics, is launching a new project that will form the basis of economic projections for some time to come. Last month the CAS announced that it will launch the National Household Budget Survey for 2011, the first such poll since 2004. The survey will cover a sampling of 4,000 households in cooperation with the World Bank and will quantify several elements related to the social, economic and demographic development in the country. The results will help assess poverty levels and provide a basis for updating the weights on different products used in the compilation of the consumer price index, the main indicator of inflation. Moreover, the survey will give a more accurate and timely reading on labor and unemployment levels.

Subsidy deal staves off strike

A nationwide strike by public transport sector workers was called off last month after a late-night deal to implement a subsidy for the drivers, which was agreed to during the previous cabinet’s term but never implemented. The subsidy will be doled out once a month and will cover the equivalent of 12.5 jerry cans (1 jerry can = 20 liters) of gas to around 40,000 licensed taxi drivers, as well as to an undisclosed number of truck drivers. The subsidy will provide taxi drivers with a total of LL470,000 ($311.77) per month, and truck drivers will receive LL350,000 ($232.17) over the next three months. The move comes after a reduction on the gasoline excise duty by LL5000 ($3.30) in February to a total of LL4,530 [$3.02] per jerry can.

EEZ finally rubber stamped

After a long wait, the Lebanese government is one step closer to future offshore oil and gas exploration. Last month the cabinet signed off on the borders of Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea, which was ratified by Parliament in August. The declared border puts the country at odds with Israel after the latter declared a different border demarcation earlier this year. The cabinet decision follows an agreement between Tel Aviv and Nicosia that adopted “Point 1” as the ending point for Israel’s proposed border with Lebanon, which starts in Ras Naqoura and ends 133 kilometers off the coast at an angle of 291 degrees. Lebanon also signed an agreement with Cyprus adopting “Point 1” but never ratified it in Parliament. The new law proposes an end point around 17 kilometers southwest of “Point 1”, which corresponds to Israel’s existing northernmost contract blocs — areas where oil and gas companies can come to explore and extract hydrocarbon resources. The difference of opinion has resulted in a disputed area of some 854 square kilometers and has fueled fears of potential conflict.

Improving irrigation

The ongoing issues over a lack of irrigation in Lebanon’s rural areas will be addressed after an agreement between the ministries of agriculture, energy and water, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Italian government was inked last month. The agreement will see $370 million provided by the Italian government go towards the rehabilitation of outdated water networks. The project seeks to deliver water to about 15,000 hectares (150 square kilometers) over the next five years. Irrigation accounts for around 60 percent of Lebanon’s water demand.

EDL hemorrhages ever more

Transfers from the treasury to Electricité du Liban during the first half of the year came in at $684 million, a 22 percent increase on the first half of 2010, according to the finance ministry. The increase in transfers, said the ministry, is due to higher prices for fuel and increased payments to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for natural gas delivered via pipeline. Payments to Lebanon’s two fuel providers, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Algerian energy conglomerate Sonatrach, totaled $620 million, constituting 90.6 percent of payments, while $36.4 million, or 5.3 percent of payment, went to EGAS, with debt servicing accounting for the rest. According to the Finance Ministry, average oil prices increased for the first half of 2011 by 14 percent, along with a 10 percent increase in the quantity of imports.

Striking for a higher lowest pay

As a general strike planned for October 12, called for by the General Labor Confederation (GLC), Lebanon’s largest union, looms on the horizon, a report released by the consulting and actuarial firm Muhanna and Co outlined the effects of increasing the minimum wage to the GLC’s proposed LL1,250,000 [$829.18] per month from its current level of LL500,000 [$333.3]. The report outlined the potential consequences the increase could have on different sectors of the economy and found that the increase would raise labor costs the most in agriculture, with a projected 99 percent increase, though operating expenditure in the sector would rise just 15 percent. Other sectors would also be hit by rising labor and operating costs, such as banking and insurance (24 percent and 12 percent, respectively), construction (72 percent and 15 percent), education and health (72 percent and 36 percent), energy and water (32 percent and 2 percent), industry (67 percent and 11 percent), market services (49 percent and 29 percent), trade (64 percent and 26 percent) and transport and communication (44 percent and 9 percent). The report proposed that the minimum wage should be raised to 150 percent of the poverty line, or LL750,000 ($497.51) per month. The labor ministry has formed a committee to study the effects of a minimum wage increase while, as Executive went to print, negotiations with the GLC to avert the strike were ongoing. 

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Real estate

For your information

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

In District//S, size does matter

The developer behind the 22-building residential and retail community District//S in Beirut’s Saifi area has launched a new initiative to satisfy those looking for pied-à-terres in the city in September. The launch, at Lebanon’s DREAM exhibition in the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center, unveiled the plan for 20 one and two-bedroom studios. The studio apartments will be fully furnished and serviced (cleaning, laundry, concierge service, gym access), with the local interior design firm Nabil Dada and Associates offering four schemes. All of the studios, ranging from 65 to 160 square meters, will be offered within one five-story building of District//S, according to Estates co-founder Anthony el-Khoury.  Namir Cortas, chief executive officer of Saifi Modern, owner of District//S and co-founder of Estates, told Executive that there could be more than 20 studios if there is more demand in the future. The price differential of the studios is about $1,500 more per square meter than the $7,000 per sqm starting price of other apartments in the development. “The price differential is our estimated cost for furnishing them and equipping them,” said Cortas. Studio construction is expected to be complete within four years, in line with the rest of the project.

DREAM goes green

London-based green-building consultancy firm, G, has partnered with 45 buildings in Lebanon to lead them to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Nader Nakib, chief executive officer of G, told Executive at the DREAM exhibition in Beirut that for the first time investing in green technology in Lebanon is worth it for developers. “The cost of going green for a first level certification is around 2 percent extra of the construction cost,” he said, adding “but the central bank subsidy allows for up to 45 percent of the construction cost at almost zero percent interest fee.” G is the LEED consultant for a number of developments in Lebanon, including Audi Plaza, Beirut Terraces, Beirut Waterfront, Beirut Harbor, Saifi 178, Verdun Hights, the ESCWA Building and most recently Saifi Gardens. In the District//S residential community, G will ensure rainwater collection techniques, the use of recycled material where possible and the use of environmentally friendly gases for ventilation and air conditioning systems. 

Real Estate branches out

Jouzour Loubnan, an environmental non-governmental organization working towards the restoration of Lebanese woodland, is partnering with both private developers and government municipalities to continue planting trees in Lebanon on government land.  Raoul Nehme, president of the organization, told Executive at the DREAM exhibition that, in addition to 38,000 trees already planted since 2007, the group hopes its partnership with developers like Estates and HAR Properties will mean an additional 35,000 trees planted this year alone. The programs with real estate developers, launched two months ago, mean that “for every meter squared built and sold, one meter squared of new forest area will be planted,” Nehme said. The 2011 budget for the group is $400,000 based on an average cost of $10 per tree planted. Phillippe Tabet, chief executive officer of HAR Properties, the developer behind the AYA building in Mar Mikhael and UPark building in Ashrafieh, said at the exhibition that HAR’s contract with Jouzour does not directly help sales but is still part of the group’s “dedication” to green building.

Rejuvenating Iraq’s housing stock

Iraq has the biggest shortage of affordable housing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after Egypt, with about a million homes needed to bridge the gap, according to a September Jones Lang LaSalle report for the MENA region entitled “Why Affordable Housing Matters”. The National Investment Commission in Iraq is to construct 1 million affordable houses, and up to 430,000 of them are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2012, according to the report.  In related news, Faleh al-Ammiri, under secretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction, told Gulf News in a September 16 interview that the National Housing Plan currently includes 30 projects where units are to be sold to nationals at cost price or below. He added that financing for real estate is still in its infancy: “We look forward to a time when the private banking system takes part in financing investment projects and the limited housing projects with the cooperation of the state’s ministries,” he said.

Jordan’s unpaid builders

Local contractors are owed $282 million by developers and public sector institutions, President of the Jordan Construction Contractors’ Association Ahmad Tarawneh claimed in September. Tarawneh told The Jordan Times that the gap would force contractors to lay off staff if payment is not received in the short term. He highlighted major Turkish developer GAMA, which is carrying out the Disi Water Conveyance Project, but claimed that other projects like Andalucia and Abdali Urban Regeneration Project also failed to pay local firms. “For the past two years, developers have been promising to pay their financial obligations to contractors, but nothing happened,” he said. In a September 12 statement to Construction Week Online, Yahya Kisbi, Jordanian minister of public works and housing, disputed the figures claiming the government only owes local contractors $70.6 million, with the Ministry of Planning and Internal Cooperations owing $29.6 million. In related news, an official at the Central Bank of Jordan told The Jordan Times in a September 13 article that the loans extended to the property sector reached 2.2 billion Jordanian dinars ($3.09 billion) by the end of July, or 12 percent of the overall deposits at local banks. Commenting on the figures, President of the Housing Investors Society Zuhair Omari said that the availability of this cash at the banks, coupled with the improved lending policies in the local banking sector, should galvanize the property market in the final quarter.

Riding the wave in Oman

Consolidated Contractors Company Oman, a subsidiary of CCC group, headquartered in Athens, has won the contracting tender to build the Omagine mixed-use development of residences, educational buildings, hotels and theme park along Muscat’s waterfront near Seeb Al Hail in Oman. The total cost of the project is $2.59 billion, which will see the US-based Omagine Inc. developers create an integrated touristic and residential area on more than 1 million square meters that will complement the upcoming The Wave touristic marina and retail center in the capital. A total of 2000 homes will be built around a marina, which will have an array of hotels and resorts ranging from three-star to five-star. The centerpiece of the development includes a cultural theme park that will feature exhibition buildings and an open-air amphitheatre. According to the Oman Daily Observer in a September 17 article, Omagine’s equity holding in the project is 60 percent, while newly formalized shareholders include the Office of Royal Court Affairs (25 percent), Consolidated Contractors Company SA (10 percent) and Consolidated Contractors Co Oman LLC (5 percent). CCC boasts a 120,000-strong workforce in the region and is already commissioned to several other projects in Oman.

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Banking & Finance

Lebanese capital markets

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

BLOM Stock Index (BSI)

Weighted effective yield of Eurobonds

Equity update

Persistent political unrest in the region and volatility in the international markets continued to have a negative impact on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE). The BLOM Stock Index (BSI), Lebanon’s equity gauge, followed a downward path between August 16 and September 16, 2011, to hit a 27-month low of 1,244 points. The BSI was down 4.7 percent on the previous month, extending its year-to-date retreat to 15.7 percent. The BSE witnessed a daily average volume per month of 182,811 shares, worth $1.71 million, during the four-week period of August 16 to September 16, as compared to 153,424 shares, valued at $1.74 million, over the preceding four-week period.

When compared to regional equity markets, the BSI underperformed the S&P Pan Arab Composite LargeMidCap Index and the Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Index. The former inched up 0.3 percent to 107.3 points and the latter slipped 2.6 percent to 963.7 points as investors remained wary. 

During the period, banking stocks dominated on the BSE, accounting for 64 percent of the total value traded. BLOM Bank’s stocks witnessed a mixed performance, with its Global Depository Receipts (GDR) falling 4.4 percent to settle at $8.17 while BLOM listed stock advanced 2 percent to $8.19. Audi Bank’s GDR and listed stocks fell, with the former declining 5.2 percent to $6.82 and the latter falling 9.9 percent to $6.2, hitting their lowest level since the 10 to 1 split became effective in May 2010. Byblos Bank’s common stock retreated as well, inching down 0.6 percent to $1.65, whereas Bank BEMO stocks slipped by 6.2 percent to an all-time low of $2.57. Bank of Beirut’s  common stock reached a peak of $20 on September 9 before ending at $19.26 on September 16, still 1.4 percent higher than its close on August 12. With regard to preferred stocks, Byblos preferred 2008 and 2009 lost 0.5 percent each to align at $100, while Bank of Beirut preferred D and E declined by 1.6 percent each to stand at $26. BLOM preferred 2011 rose 1.1 percent to close at $10.11.

Real estate leader Solidere saw its market dominance decline. Solidere A and B stocks tumbled an average of 9 percent to a 28-month low of $15.15 and $15.30, respectively.

In the industrial sector, cement manufacturer Holcim’s stock reached its highest level since October 2008, peaking at $17.88 on September 8 before settling at $16.70, 1.3 percent higher than its close the month before. Ciment Blanc Class B hit its highest level since March 1998, touching $3.25, before declining to $3.07, though still up 3.4 percent from August 12, whereas Ciment Blanc Class N rallied 11 percent to $1.72.

Rasamny Younis Motor Company stocks fell 7.4 percent to a one-year low of $2.50. 

Eurobond bulletin

The Lebanese Eurobond market has been volatile over the month. The market witnessed some selloffs on long-term maturities, especially on the 2021 issue between the middle and end of August before it rebounded, boosted by higher demand from local investors on the long end of the curve. Thus, the BLOM Bond Index rose 0.3 percent to reach 111.24 points. Consequently, the portfolio weighted yield fell by 14 basis points (bps) to 4.8 percent, while the spread against the United States benchmark yield widened 7 bps to 404 bps. Lebanon’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) — which vary positively with the country’s default risk — reached 395-425 bps compared to 361-391 bps on August 12. Comparatively, in regional markets, Dubai and Saudi Arabia CDS were quoted at 415-430 bps and 111-113 bps, respectively.

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