Finance

Fadi Khalaf – Arab Federation of Exchanges

by Maya Sioufi
written by Maya Sioufi

Lebanon’s capital market is entering a new era, at least in legislative terms, with parliament’s approval of the long awaited capital market law in August 2011. In a next step, an independent regulatory authority with oversight of the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) is to be created and headed by the central bank governor, the indomitable Riad Salameh. Fadi Khalaf, secretary general of the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges and former BSE chairman, talks to Executive about the new law, imbalances in Lebanon’s financial markets and the BSE’s new prospects and challenges.

The BSE has not had a president since you left in August 2009. Do you know of any plans to have a new president?

I am not aware of any plans regarding the election of the next president. This is government politics. There are over 50 vacant positions in the Lebanese government and this is just one of them. It is the government’s decision to find a new president. When I left in August 2009, I never thought that we would be in September 2011 and still without a president, but some posts in Lebanon stay vacant for three to four years.

What are the most important issues that the BSE faces?

We don’t have enough companies listed. Most of the companies in Lebanon are family owned and they avoid listing because they don’t want foreign investors to own a stake in their company. Listing implies fiscal taxes and transparency, and in Lebanon, companies have several books. If companies list and don’t disclose their entire income, their stock price will be hit. If they disclose their income, then they have to pay taxes. So some companies will avoid listing.

There is also a lack of liquidity. The BSE is not a priority for the government. It has always been secondary. The government wants to encourage the BSE but it needs the liquidity to cover the government expenses and the government deficit. If there remains excess liquidity, then it will see if it will be directed to the exchange. If the banking sector needs liquidity, then the government needs to keep it there. Many exchanges in the world have enjoyed a strong boost due to the privatization of state owned enterprises, which also gives incentive for other companies to list. We have not had this in Lebanon. Take the privatization of the telecom sector for instance, if a strategic investor wants to pay a good price and not be listed, the government accepts. So the BSE was never a priority.

Do banks encourage companies to list?

Capital markets and the banking sector are usually complementary but [in Lebanon] they are in competition. Investors put their money either in a bank or in the capital markets. When companies need funds, they either take it as debt from banks or equity from capital markets. Since the banking sector is 10 times the size of the capital markets, it has a much stronger influence and it will not encourage companies to list since it is not in their interest.

For example, I had once convinced a very large Lebanese company to list on the exchange and sent them the necessary [documents]. Two to three months later, the CEO tells me that his banker, who is also a shareholder in the company, advised him against listing and provided him with a loan to cover his financing despite the fact that his bank has a brokerage firm and its duty is to convince companies to list.

How about the fees that banks would receive from advising companies to list on an exchange?

Banks earn more fees by providing companies with loans as it provides them with regular payments of interest, whereas listing on the exchange only generates a one off fee. When a company’s debt to capital ratio reaches a certain limit, then the banks might advise them on considering the capital markets. The exchange is just a tool. It is living on the crumbs of the banking sector.

Will there be more interest in the stock exchange following the capital markets law signed in August?

Yes there will be more interest. The governor of the central bank will head the capital markets authority and he has the most influence in the banking sector. This is a good step for the exchange. He can direct the banking sector to inject liquidity into the capital markets. He can also influence the banking sector into encouraging companies to list. In the exceptional case of Lebanon, the banking sector’s market capitalization is around $120 billion whereas the exchange is a mere $11 billion so if the banking sector is not convinced, the only other way to boost the exchange is through privatization of the telecom industry and it does not look like that will happen anytime soon.

When do you think the law will be implemented?

I am not sure if it will be implemented by the end of the year. No one knows how long it will take in Lebanon.

How about the initiative to privatize the stock exchange?

It gives the exchange independence from politics. The private sector is the driving force in Lebanon. Privatizing the exchange will give it a boost but it is not the key factor; if companies are not convinced of listing, privatizing… it is not going to change anything.

One issue that needs to be addressed regarding privatization is how to implement it. The law says the stock exchange should be privatized but it doesn’t say how. It says that after the formation of the capital markets authority, the exchange has one year to have the legislation in place to become a [registered] company as opposed to a public institution and one year after that to be become private.

What initiative could be put in place to increase liquidity? Would it help for example to provide incentives to local banks to buy stocks on the BSE?

What is the point of going to the supermarket with plenty of money in your pocket if there is not much on the shelf for you to buy?

How about incentivizing companies to list? Should the government encourage mergers?

When I was head of the BSE, we did a study on the Lebanese market and we found that there were 50 companies sizeable enough to list on the exchange and they were not listing. Mergers mean putting family businesses together. It is a problem on a whole different level. It could help but it is not enough. Besides, we shouldn’t want the exchange to live on incentives only.

What can the Beirut Stock Exchange do to improve?

It cannot do much… The evolution of the exchange has already taken place in the past ten years with the implementation of measures such as an increase in the type of instruments that can list (stocks, bonds, preferred shares, GDRs,  etcetera) ,a move from fixed pricing to continuous pricing, a reduction of the taxes on dividends and an update of the trading system. All these steps helped increase the volume of shares traded from $200,000 per day in 2000 to 8 to 10 million dollars per day today.

The exchange has done what it can do. The rest remains in the hands of the other players of the Lebanese economy. Unfortunately, the correct step they are taking with the capital markets law is happening during a time when the biggest Arab bourses are complaining of low volumes, so the timing is not great, but at least the exchange will be ready for the next wave of investment in the Middle East.

 

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Economics & Policy

Electricity: Crumbling Behind the Country

by Sami Halabi
written by Sami Halabi

Officially charged with powering the nation, Electricité du Liban (EDL) is today perhaps the epitome of Lebanon’s political ineptitude, and one that nearly pulled the plug on the fledgling cabinet last month.

EDL started with promise in the mid-1960s when architect Pierre Neema modeled headquarters in East Beirut’s Mar Mikhael district in a ‘Brazilesque’ architectural style, symbolizing the progressiveness of the sector and the hope that it would host a catalyst of economic growth for decades to come. Today, illusions have dissipated, and the building, with its few working elevators, its dusty façade and its aging workforce, is nothing less than the embodiment of the dilapidated electricity sector in a country where power cuts are the norm and not the exception.

At present, the sector’s output capacity is roughly half it needs to meet current peak consumption demand, and by 2016 will be less than a third of what it needs to be. Supply, transmission, distribution and collection will also have to be improved to counteract the 40 percent annual financial losses the electricity sector accumulates, according to the energy ministry. Those are comprised of 15 percent technical losses due to outdated networks and supply lines, 20 percent in non-technical losses attributed to such things as theft of electricity, as well as another 5 percent from the much-politicized issue of unpaid bills that make headlines every time a collector gets a thumping from neighborhood thugs. The magnitude of the problem notwithstanding, the government has done little to nothing in order to develop the sector since the civil war. Instead, it has spent approximately $16 billion on subsidies, maintenance and the construction of a few insufficient power plants. According to Bank Audi, in the past three years alone the government has spent an average of $1.5 billion on covering the deficit of EDL, mostly as a result of a lack of natural gas supplies and high oil prices. EDL cannot adjust its prices — which are set according to an oil price of just $21 — without a cabinet decision.  Losses to the economy due to blackouts and related electricity woes are estimated at around $2.5 billion every year, or about 6 percent of gross domestic product. This year alone the government has already paid out almost $684 million from the public purse to EDL, according to figures released by the finance ministry last month.

To add insult to injury, the combination of these factors has resulted in another political debacle that has gripped the nation and delayed the affairs of parliament — all for a stopgap solution to the country’s most precarious public policy predicament.

The general’s plan

In August, Member of Parliament and Free Patriotic Movement(FPM) leader Michel Aoun submitted a one-page law to Parliament asking the government to budget $1.18 billion for the production, transmission and distribution of 700 megawatts (MW) of electricity capacity to augment the current output capacity of 1500MW, as well as the funding of required consultants, over a period of four years.

The proposal immediately set off political fireworks amongst both the opposition and the parliamentary majority, who decried the proposal as too limited in scope and/or oversight, thus putting it in Lebanon’s overstuffed inbox: the cabinet. But it was when Aoun’s bloc threatened to resign that things became particularly heated and the ‘one color cabinet’ became somewhat kaleidoscopic.

Of course, an additional 700MW is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addressing Lebanon’s electrical shortfall. Back in 2009, when FPM Minister of Energy Gebran Bassil unveiled his five-year strategy for the sector, Lebanon’s average consumption stood between 2000MW and 2100MW, peaking at somewhere around 2450MW in the summer months. According to the energy ministry, demand growth in 2009 was around 7 percent annually, or 170MW at peak consumption. Last month, the minister said that demand grows around 200MW to 300MW per year. Do that math and peak consumption today should stand at around 2900MW, meaning the difference between the capacity to be added (700MW) and what is still needed will be roughly same. Factor in another four years before production comes online and it becomes a small drop in the bucket. “It’s not about the [additional] 700MW; it’s about the 5000MW [projected to be needed after 2015],” says Albert Khoury, deputy general manager of the Electrical Utility of Aley, a concession that distributes electricity to the district of Aley. According to Cesar Abu Khalil, advisor to the Minister of Energy and Water, the reason this plan was proposed was because it could be the most easily implemented. It was the only one ready to go to tender, as the pre-qualification standards and conditions had already been completed, and the $1.8 billion budget had already been agreed upon by the previous cabinet and included as part of the draft budget for 2011, even before the five-year strategy was passed.

Although not mentioned in the proposed legislation —something opposition MPs were quick to note — Abou Khalil explained that the project is in line with the original five-year strategy approved in 2010. According to the energy ministry, the total budget for the project came to $850.4 million for installing Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), $247 million for the transportation of power, $38.5 million for distribution and $40 million for consulting. Abou Khalil also stated that these figures are “estimates,” and do not necessarily reflect the money that will actually be spent because tenders have not yet occurred. “The accurate numbers will be released and everybody will know [them] when the tenders are done and the contracts won.” Contrary to what had been reported in the Lebanese press, another power plant in a new location will not actually be built, says Abou Khalil. The additional 700 MW will come from an additional CCGT “set”, the term in the power industry for a subunit of a CCGT power plant, at the Deir Ammar power station, generating between 400MW and 450MW and reciprocating engines in Jiyeh and Zouk. The project will also include the rehabilitation and the addition of power units in Zouk, Jiyeh and Deir Ammar to get to the final 700MW.

Deal or bust

While those 700MW may be able to at least account for some of the shortfall, the political fiasco over the project can be seen as a sign of things to come on the road to 24-hour power, which will not be reached for another four or five years even if everything goes as planned.

All other cabinet items were delayed and sessions put off due to the ruckus between Aoun’s 10-member bloc, which insisted the measure be passed as it is, and MP and chairman of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt’s bloc. This prompted mediation efforts from Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s ministers, as well as others from the Amal Movement and Hezbollah.

The reasons for opposition to the matter were unclear but revolved around funding the plan from the treasury rather than from international donors offering lower interest rates. It was eventually agreed that this issue would be discussed at a later stage and the debate then turned to the amendment of the existing electricity law, oversight from the cabinet and the creation of the legally mandated regulator, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA).

As the gloves came off, the divisions in cabinet were clear, with reports of the prime minister slamming the table and screaming at the energy minister, levying counter threats that he too would leave the cabinet for good if there was no settlement. “You taught us to sit on the table and say ‘either you give us what we want, or we go.’ Now, I am using the same thing with you, Gebran: Either you go for the proposal, or I go,” Mikati was reported to have said, according to An Nahar newspaper.  Obviously he did not go, and a compromise was reached. When the premier emerged from the secret session he announced that the law had been approved, with amendments. One change was to the allocation of money, which it was determined would be spent over four years — $247 million in 2011, $305million in 2012, $277 million in 2013 and $252 million in 2014. The prime minister also announced an agreement over a regulatory authority to supervise the sector within three months and the appointment of a new board of directors of EDL within two months.

Regulation or removal of authority

But it was not all celebrations and champagne bottles for the energy minister and his party, as the hangover is sure to come. In theory, there is a law that was passed in 2002 that sets out how the sector ought to be restructured and regulated. Law 462, or the electricity law, is meant to replace the existing legal structure that grants EDL a monopoly over production, transmission and distribution of electricity. The law proposes that the sector be unbundled — separated into generation, transmission and distribution functions — and possibly partially privatized so that the private sector would be allowed to generate and distribute electricity to then sell to the government.

Overseeing all of this would be the ERA, which would set standards, give out licenses for production and distribution and set price ceilings and perform tenders. At least that was the rosy picture.

The reality is that since then there has not been one minister or cabinet that sought to introduce the regulator to the sector, as was supposed to happen. Nor were the implementation decrees issued, which should have taken place three months after the law was published in the Official Gazette almost a decade ago.

“We started drafting it in 1996 and it came out in 2002,” says Roudi Baroudi, an independent energy consultant and secretary general of the World Energy Council’s (WEC) Lebanon Member Committee, who worked on drafting the original law. “We should have had an electricity regulator since 2002. The implementation decrees were ready, the [cabinet] appointments were ready.”

While it may be global best practice, the issue of a sector regulator flares tempers amongst politicians. After Lebanon’s Taef agreement, which ended the civil war, most executive powers were transferred to the individual ministers under Article 66, effectively giving them a legal basis to choose to implement or not implement laws. 

In his previous post as telecommunications minister, Bassil was involved in a bureaucratic dogfight with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority over the jurisdictions of each of their mandates. The issue ended up in Lebanon’s supreme court on several occasions. Eventually, the ministry won out and today the TRA is little more than an advisory body to the ministry and practices very few of its legal functions.

The apparent root of the problem in both the telecom and electricity laws is the way they were written, granting the minister the right to set the ‘general policy’ of the sector.

“The difficulty that we have faced in the Lebanese public administration has been: What is general policy?” says Ziad Hayek, secretary general of the Higher Council for Privatization. Abou Khalil adds that there is no specific political ideology held by the minister opposing the formation of the regulator (which PM Mikati announced should be established three months after an agreement on the 700MW law was reached, per the proposal of Bassil) but “under the present constitution, the minister is the head of his ministry and we cannot create any other body that can shackle him or prevent him from exercising his prerogatives.” Khalil called the time limit for establishing a regulator, “not a deadline [but] an encouragement”. 

Mohamad Alem, managing partner of Alem & Associates law firm, who specializes in public sector dispute resolution, said that if, after a period of three months, the minister does not propose the names of those persons who would head the ERA, the premier basically has two options: he either assigns the power to appoint the board of the ERA to the cabinet or removes the minister. Either option would be cataclysmic for the cabinet. Minister Bassil is one of the foremost, if not the foremost, minister of the FPM and the bloc controls a third of the cabinet; thus, the loss of one more minister would bring the whole apparatus crumbling down once again. The press office of the Council of Ministers could not be reached for further clarification.

Amending the law

Generally, there is an agreement amongst most political circles that Law 462 will need to be amended. One of the agreements made at the September 7 cabinet session was that a committee comprised of PM Mikati, as well as the ministers of finance, health, justice, public works and transport, social affairs, energy and economy and trade would look at the introduction of amendments to Law 462.

According to Hayek there are two major areas where amendments are needed: one is the ERA, the second is the corporatization of EDL. When asked by Executive what the amendments he sought to impose were, Minister Bassil refused to comment in detail, saying only that the proposals were related to distribution, production, the ERA and alternative energy. Abou Khalil also declined to comment but did say that the discussions would begin with the proposed amendments already sent to the previous cabinet by Bassil.

With the issue of the 700MW law out of the cabinet, it is now in the hands of a much less amicable body. As Executive went to print, the bill was making its rounds at the joint parliamentary committees before hitting the general assembly.  In the first session there was a heated debate between opposition MPs headed by former Premier Fouad Siniora, who reportedly gave a presentation outlining the opposition’s position (namely that there is no mention of international concessionary loans in the law and no mention of the ERA) and then left the room without hearing Bassil’s response.

Already, the ministry’s arch-nemesis, opposition MP Mohammed Kabbani, is threatening further action against the ministry. Kabbani told Executive that if the ERA is not appointed within three months he will demand a vote of no confidence against the energy minister in parliament.

No end in sight

What all this means for the consumer is that they should not expect to be relieved of paying for electricity once to the government, twice to private generators, third in the form of a subsidy and fourth, whenever power surges destroy appliances. The political morass that has obstructed the implementation of any electrical progress for decades has not been cleared. Even if the current project is implemented, there will be no impact for four years; all the while the country’s aging infrastructure continues to deteriorate. In short, “there is no conspiracy,” says Khoury. “There is just rotten politics.”

Distributing a problem

Asked whether he would block the cabinet’s electricity bill in parliament, MP Mohammed Kabbani insisted that, if it reached parliament in the form agreed by the cabinet, he would not. However, he is not particularly happy with the overall five-year strategy, which he would seek to “improve and protect”, as its initiatives make their way through the budget process necessitating parliamentary approval.

Part of the five-year strategy is to restructure how electricity is distributed throughout the country. The Distribution Service Provider (DSP) project, carried out under the auspices of EDL, will split Lebanon into three areas where electricity distribution, maintenance and collection operations will be allocated to three contract winners over a four-year period. The DSP is a turnkey project where planning, design, asset management, construction of distribution facilities, meter reading, bill collection and project management are integrated, according to the energy ministry. The project is budgeted in the five-year plan at an estimated $361 million and scheduled to take place between 2011 and 2014, with an additional $50 million budgeted for the upgrade and rehabilitation of the system in 2015.

The tender for the project, which was not announced by the ministry’s media office and only mentioned in passing by the minister last month, has already been completed amongst seven principal bidders: the Arabian Construction Company (ACC), ACE, Batco, Butec, Caporal & Moretti, Debbas and Mercury. Each company has entered into a joint venture with a local partner, such as Khatib & Alami and ACC, as well as E-Aley and Batco.

According to Kabbani, however, the project is “definitely illegal… was it done in a way that allows for oversight? It was a tabkha,” or a cooked up deal.
According to Kabbani, the project involves public funds that will be spent without approval from the parliament, in contravention to the public accounting law, while there is nothing in the contracts that assures the government’s revenue will be protected.

He says because the companies are contractually obligated to install, manage and collect payments from consumers, but do not actually get paid a fee directly from the government, they will have to borrow the money from banks to fund their operations. However, to make back their investments Kabbani says that they will take a percentage of the money they collect from consumers, which should go to the government. That percentage is not yet approved by parliament and forms the crux of his objection. Kabbani, however, admitted that he had not seen the tender.

“There are already contractors for collection at EDL. I have always witnessed MP Kabbani emitting his opinion according to his political stance, not technical stance,” says Cesar Abu Khalil, advisor to the Minister of Energy and Water. “I reiterate for him to read the tender books, and the project, before emitting political opinions on a technical matter.”

According to the energy ministry, payment to service providers will be made up of a direct, set payment from EDL’s budget, and another sum determined by the amount of money saved by allowing the DSP to perform functions, such as installation of meters and collection of bills that EDL would normally do or contract out. “Each component [is] based on unit prices adjusted by key performance indicators which were well-defined during the bidding process and able to be accurately calculated during the implementation process,” the ministry says. The five-year strategy also reiterates this point, stating “the recovery of capital and cost of financing will be paid from improved collection.”
“Our remuneration is dependent on how well we perform or on how badly we perform, [with] huge penalties [if] we do not,” says Albert Khoury, deputy general manager of the Electrical Utility of Aley, a concession that distributes electricity to the district of Aley and who is the local partner on the Butco bid. “We need to have results.” In any case, the final call on the legality of the matter will be decided both by the Minister of Finance and the Audit Court before the contracts can be awarded.

 

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Economics & Policy

High Hopes and Higher Hurdles

by Sami Halabi
written by Sami Halabi

Recent history would show that perhaps the only thing slower than Lebanon’s Internet speed is the process the politicians have undertaken to bring about faster Internet speeds. But just as web pages do, eventually, load onto laptop screens in Beirut, it may be that Lebanon’s online evolution from the Stone Age to the modern day will not take another millennia.

Former Minister of Telecommunications Charbel Nahas promised as much when he announced on January 28 of this year that third generation Internet services (3G) “will be available to the Lebanese in all areas within seven months” — alas, such was not to pass, though the country’s telecommunications sector has not been entirely devoid of new life.

The light at the end of the tunnel

3G technology is a means of incorporating high speed Internet with mobile devices such as “smart phones,” but subscribers will also be able to attach a simple device called a “dongle” to their computers and use the service the same way they currently use other wireless Internet products on the market such as the pervasive Mobi and Wise Box. The speed promised by Nahas, who is now the country’s labor minister, was to average 7 megabits per second (mbps) and reach speeds “up to” 21 mbps. That would be a speed 27 times faster than those currently available via a digital subscriber line (DSL) (the current fastest possible Internet connection in the country), 70 times faster than those available using the general packet radio service (GPRS) and 500 times faster than those available to ordinary cell phone subscribers, according to Nahas.

Of course, the August 28 kick-off date has come and gone, but work on the 3G network has been underway, and by September 20 the first round of testing was launched by two state-owned Mobile Interim Companies — MIC1 and MIC2 — managed by Alfa and MTC Touch, respectively.

New prices, same story

Another promise put forth was from the current Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui for a new list of speeds, prices and download/upload caps. Under his plan, speeds would increase between four and eight times their present snail’s pace. Such a measure requires approval from the cabinet, which was confirmed in the official gazette on September 15.

The decree details the new pricing and capacity structures for consumers and data service providers (DSPs) looking to increase their services, and was due to come into effect on October 1.

The reason such an advance in conventional and 3G Internet use has become possible at this point is because an undersea Internet cable dubbed the India-Middle East-Western Europe 3 (IMEWE3) has finally been opened up, after having originally been scheduled to go online in March 2010. 

The IMEWE3 cable has a total capacity, for the many countries connected, of 3.84 terabytes per second. Lebanon’s allocation is 120 gigabits per second (gbps), with the potential to be upgraded to some 300 gbps, a game changer for Lebanon, whose legal bandwidth transmitted over the Cadmos cable was around 2 gbps before the IMEWE3 opened up. The problem with the cable was, perhaps predictably, political in nature.

As Executive reported in July, Abdulmenaim Youssef, the head of Lebanon’s fixed line operator, Ogero, refused to hand over the administration of the cable to Minister Nahas. Coincidentally, Youssef also occupies the post in the ministry that is supposed to oversee Ogero. Youssef, who in the past was close to the current opposition and is now believed by many to be supported by the Premier Najib Mikati, is in charge of doling out the needed international capacity to companies like service providers MIC1, MIC2, the DSPs and the Internet service providers (ISPs). This is done by distributing E1s, or bandwidth packages equal to 2 mbps, to those who request them.

The government recently decreased the price of an E1 from $2,700 to $420, ostensibly to facilitate the expected consumption increase. As Executive went to print, 10 gbps of extra capacity had already been opened up through the IMEWE3 cable, according to Firas Abi-Nassif, advisor to the telecommunications ministry.

According to Habib Torbey, head of the Lebanese Telecom Association (LTA), president of GlobalCom Data Services and owner of Internet provider IDM, “The 10 gbps is needed for the initial phase [of the fixed Internet upgrade], but directly afterwards there should be 20 gbps ready [for use].” He added that the government has promised to increase the bandwidth to 100 gbps by the end of the year.

“We have signed all requests for E1s from private sector companies,” said Abi Nasif, when asked if the providers had received their requested capacity. “Once the minister signs, the execution is in the hands of Ogero. If this does not take place, kul hadis illu hadis,” an Arabic expression that roughly translates as a veiled threat that there will be consequences. Youssef did not respond to Executive’s request for comment. But at press time, several ISPs had confirmed that they still had not received their requested E1 lines.

Torbey also stated that the minister’s office had informed him that private DSPs will be allowed access to more of Ogero’s central offices (COs), distribution centers in each neighborhood that are needed to dole out DSL to customers. In 2006, when DSL Internet was being introduced to the market, the telecommunications ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with private sector players stating that the government intended to compete with them on a level playing field. Ogero, under Youssef, opened up the initial 35 COs to the private sector but later rescinded that privilege and eventually blocked them from entering any of the 171 total COs that were created. Ogero capitalized on their market position and scooped up the lion’s share of potential customers around the country, leaving the private sector unable to compete.

If progress is not achieved in the current environment, the minister could technically ask the cabinet to remove Youssef from one or both of his posts. The fact that he is both head of Ogero and head of Ogero oversight, as far as the telecommunications minister’s party leader Michel Aoun is concerned, is already illegal. With a cabinet that, at least until recently, was described as ‘one color’, putting pressure on Youssef may be much more feasible than at any time since Youssef was held in jail for several months on charges of wasting public funds and illegally using official telephone lines in 2004, though he was eventually cleared and released.

Aoun has already hinted that Prime Minister Najib Mikati is protecting government officials who are violating regulations. Aoun and Mikati recently came to loggerheads over the electricity file currently before cabinet, and there has been speculation that if Youssef does not implement the planned expansion of the network, then Aoun’s party, the Free Patriotic Movement, will lobby the cabinet to have Youssef removed.

Faulty framework

Even if everything goes according to plan, come October 1 there are other potential roadblocks in the way of an efficient telecommunications network. According to studies carried out by private sector operator Cedarcom, the majority of subscribers will choose either plan two (1 mbps with a 10 GB cap) or plan three (2 mbps with a 20 GB cap). But even if the bandwidth becomes available, there are doubts about Lebanon’s infrastructure.

“The situation of our ground networks is very catastrophic,” said Riad Bahsoun, an expert at the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations agency for information and communications technology. “In its present state the [local] network cannot cope with any expansion.”

The government currently does not have a standard and functional quality of service system to monitor if breaks and outages are occurring on a regular basis and where. While a new fiber optic network is being built around the country — and will take at least another year to become functional — the present outdated network relies on a mix of fiber, coaxial cables (made for voice, not data) and old copper wires.

Indeed, last year saw several outages that cut off entire swathes of the country from the Internet access for days. “There will be more and more cases where people ask for the 6 mbps and they cannot get it,” said Imad Tarabay, chief executive of Cedarcom, which distributes the Mobi wireless service, and secretary general of the LTA, which represents the country’s private sector Internet providers.

Even so, Abi-Nassif, who specializes in Internet traffic engineering, said the network will be “fine”, although he admitted “things will not be 100 percent smooth on October 1.” 

Bahsoun, however, called the much-publicized plans to upgrade an effet d’annonce, a French term for an announcement made for effect whose veracity is in doubt.

“The media was sold the issue of the Internet [upgrade] under Sehnaoui but all he did was apply the things that have been around since [former telecom minister] Gebran Bassil,” he said. “But it is good that he went forward and did it.”

Private sector exclusion

So with faster and cheaper fixed Internet a possibility this October, or some time thereafter, the option of mobile Internet is still on the table. The ministry has not yet set pricing for the service, but according to Abi-Nassif it will be announced on October 20 when the minister will unveil the coverage areas, details and dates. He said that the process of covering the country would take roughly a year and the rollout would be gradual.

As Executive reported last March, Cedarcom was planning to bring forward a lawsuit against the telecom ministry at the Shura Council, Lebanon’s highest court, seeking to halt the 3G project, not because they are against it in principle, said Tarabay, but because it would effectively neutralize the private sector and nationalize the telecommunications industry. That lawsuit has since been submitted and is being considered by the Shura Council.

The thrust of the allegation is that MIC1 and MIC2 have been granted neither the licenses nor the frequencies required to legally provide 3G service — yet they are proceeding with plans to do so anyway — while private sector players are being disallowed from entering the 3G market because they do not have licenses to do so. The initiation of a wholly public sector 3G service would almost immediately price the private sector out of the market because of the large fiscal imbalance between the two in terms of taxation and operating costs.

Tarabay said that as part of the legal proceedings both Cedarcom and the ministry were asked to present their operating licenses to Shura Council. Accordingly, Cedarcom did so, while the ministry did not present the licenses of Alfa and MTC within the timeframe allotted. A copy of the Shura Council decision obtained by Executive indeed declared that the decision to launch 3G by the ministry was not in line with legal standards for a number of reasons: that the decision was taken during a caretaker government, that it is the job of the TRA and the cabinet to issue the licenses, and even that the decision contradicts the principles of fair competition. The decree furthered that the 3G projects should be halted for a period of a month and the ministry given 15 days — starting September 15 — to renege on its decision to proceed.

When Executive asked Abi-Nassif to confirm this information he said he was not aware of the issue but would transfer this and all other legal questions to the person in charge. Several days later, he called back to say that the ministry would “rather not” comment on legal issues at the time.

Despite the Shura Council ruling the minister has claimed on his Facebook page that he will proceed with the plans, because, “no one can stand in the way of change and reform [and] the minister will show the weakness of those trying to slow down this project”.

As such, when it becomes time for the cabinet to price the service for the public, it may technically be pricing a service that is illegal.

Compromise or cop out?

There may be a compromise solution to the public-versus-private sector dispute over 3G, however. According to Abi-Nassif, ISPs could serve as mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), an industry term for a company in agreement with the owners of a telecom asset that performs services ranging from complete resale with separate branding to merely offering a back office service such as billing. Abi-Nassif confirmed that this was the ministry’s “orientation” at the moment but did not confirm that this was the final policy.

The LTA’s Torbey confirmed that he was in talks with the ministry on this very subject. “If the government gives me an MVNO that would be enough for me,” he said. But he will not accept to be “just a reseller,” seeking instead to be a “real added value service provider.”

“At the end of the day we started Internet in this country, we know more than anyone what our customers want. Why would they put restrictions on us and say ‘you can install this but not that?’ It’s not right,” said Torbey. “We shall see what we will do if they don’t let us [install what we want]. That’s why there are negotiations.”

Even if an MVNO is agreed upon it would not necessarily solve the problem. If 3G is launched in its full capacity before the MVNO, then the same thing that happened with DSL — public sector control of market share —could happen again, leaving the private sector out to dry.

“We are pressuring the ministry so that we start at the same time as Alfa and MTC. Otherwise there will be a conflict,” Torbey said. “There are people on the other side who are pushing in the opposite direction, saying ‘why should you give the ISPs the right to sell on 3G? We as MTC and Alfa want to sell on our own.’ There is a conflict of interest for sure,” he concluded, while saying that he will accept no less than to be allowed to have an MVNO that gives them “everything but infrastructure.”

 

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Economics & Policy

Executive Insight – Stronger but not immune

by Fabio Scacciavillani
written by Fabio Scacciavillani

After months of burying their heads in the sand, markets and policy makers are waking up to the reality of a double dip in many mature economies. The logic of the recovery was quite simple: the massive bank bailouts, the fiscal stimulus and the monetary injections were supposed to provide temporary support to avoid depression while the deeper underlying causes of the crisis were addressed and resolved.

The reality has been utterly disappointing. As soon as a timid recovery materialized in mid-2009, world leaders, financers and central bankers patted each other on the back, hailing the “green shoots of growth” in a self-congratulatory ritual. Hence difficult but unavoidable decisions were postponed day after day while the stock market was inflated by the liquidity injected by the United States Federal Reserve and, to a lesser extent, the European Central Bank.

Once the ‘quantitative easing’ programs expired, stock markets lost steam, and by the second quarter of 2011 all major economies were close to stagnation.

Faced with evidence of declining economic activity, most media and analysts started to drum up the “soft patch” rhetoric, suggesting the slowdown was a mere pause in the global recovery. Yet by the summer, with the intensification of the fiscal crisis in Spain and Italy, the smoke and mirrors were wiped away, revealing a chronic lack of leadership and policy direction, laid bare by the squabbles over the debt ceiling in the US. Investors were forced to realize there was no long-term plan to tackle the crisis.

Belatedly, the reality of an impending double-dip recession has sunk in, although the extent and the duration are still being debated. But it will not be a matter of a few months given that there is no catalyst for growth in sight. Nor are current policies going to rectify the situation in the short-term. It is unlikely that the structural reforms that are key to boosting long-term growth prospects — including revamping fiscal systems, European Union governance, financial regulations and welfare programs —  will be enacted before the end of the year. In the meantime risks of a large sovereign default or other disruptions loom.

Buoyed by barrels

So far the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has emerged relatively unscathed from the global economic crisis, not withstanding the effects of the Arab uprisings this year. But how long can this last? The resilience results from healthy growth in the emerging markets — above all in China —  which has maintained high oil prices and international trade. If the recession deepens, we could experience a situation similar to that in early 2009 when the oil price plunged below $50 a barrel.  

GCC states remain obviously reliant on oil revenues, which account for close to 78 percent of total exports. Saudi Arabia in particular has embarked on a program of increased social spending to defuse political tensions. Standard Chartered estimates that Saudi Arabia will incur budget deficits if the oil price falls below $106 per barrel.

Break-even oil prices have increased in the rest of the GCC, although they are still below current market prices. The UAE and Kuwait need oil prices at $80 per barrel to balance their budgets, while Qatar based its $6.1 billion surplus budget projections for 2011 on an oil price assumption of $55 per barrel. Oman’s 2011 budget was drafted with a slightly higher figure, at $58, and while higher spending has been incurred the high average oil prices of $106 so far in 2011 gives them a fairly comfortable cushion. 

Even the International Monetary Fund in its latest World Economic Outlook, issued in late September, underscores that growth in the MENA oil exporters will be almost 5 percent in 2011, gliding to almost 4 percent in 2012. The IMF mentions downside risks from political unrest and a deeper fall in commodity prices (in the baseline scenario oil prices are expected to fall by only 3 percent on average in 2012), but overall the picture is rather positive, especially if compared to mature economies.

If the global picture were to deteriorate, there are two elements to keep in mind. The lessons from 2009 have been internalized: commitment to public spending kept the economies going then and will again act as an anchor of stability in 2011/12.

Actually, governments would be wise to reiterate their commitment to expenditure on infrastructure now, without waiting for the situation to worsen. This will reinforce confidence, thereby sustaining credit, private investment, consumption and the job market.

Lessons learnt

There is an even more important factor compared to 2009: financial markets have improved markedly. High-grade credit from the GCC has been buoyant, with Abu Dhabi and Qatar outperforming most sovereign benchmarks from emerging markets. International portfolio managers have developed a more insightful knowledge of the region, whereas in 2008 there was hardly any significant fixed income market.

During 2011 regional bonds withstood the bouts of global volatility, in contrast to 2009 after the Nakheel default. Traders for example recall that Qatar sold $7 billion in bonds in November 2009, subscribed mainly by investors in the United States and the United Kingdom, and as a result of the turmoil ensuing the Dubai World debt moratorium, some portfolio managers sold them on the belief that the Emirate was part of the UAE.

The notable progress made in the past two years in creating a fixed income market and some central banking facilities has paid off: liquidity is improving dramatically, with several benchmark issues now gettingt he attention of large funds with the analytical resources to assess the economic situation professionally and not hysterically. Crucially, GCC paper finds better acceptance in the repurchase (repo) market with low haircuts. This is of the utmost importance because in crises heightened risk aversion affects dramatically those securities that do not provide liquidity and that cannot be used as collateral in repo operations.

The Lehman bankruptcy was essentially a run on the international repo market and hit the GCC banking system because short-term financing became difficult. If such an extreme event were to take place again the lines of defense are stronger. Additionally, commercial banks have painstakingly cleaned their balance sheet of non-performing loans, while name lending after the Algosaibi-Saad affair is being replaced, albeit sluggishly, by careful assessment of balance sheets and business plans.

Not everything is rosy: corporate governance remains patchy, macroeconomic statistics in some areas are far below emerging market standards (in the UAE especially) and stock markets remain extremely fragmented and illiquid. Sovereign bonds from the region are not included in emerging market indices; hence the GCC bonds are an off-index choice for most international funds. This means they are the first to be dumped by investors whose portfolios track broader indices.

In conclusion, thanks to solid fundamentals and an improved financial landscape, the GCC can reasonably withstand another mild recession lasting two or even three quarters, but the ripple effects of a deeper downturn or a traumatic sovereign default would be felt on Gulf shores. Accumulated wealth is a strong bulwark, not total protection.

 

 

 

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Society

The end is nigh for the age of rage

by Jeff Neumann
written by Jeff Neumann

Lebanon has among the slowest broadband Internet speeds in the world. This has been well documented, and as Executive went to press the country was ranked 169 out of 170 by broadband monitor Ookala — putting Lebanon ahead of only Iran, while trailing directly behind Mali, Bolivia and Sudan. And not only are Lebanese Internet connections painfully slow, they are also prohibitively expensive.

The grand rollout of the upgraded broadband digital subscriber lines (DSL) in Lebanon is set to take effect on October 1, according to comments made by Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui to reporters in late September. With the assumption that the plan will be realized and broadband speeds will move beyond a crawl Executive found out what the increase in bandwidth could mean for businesses here.

The hold up

Because of the extortionate cost of a decent Internet connection in Lebanon today — by all accounts the most expensive broadband in the Middle East — running a web-based business can be extremely frustrating and logistically problematic. And one does not have to look far to find the source of such frustration. Tom Shepherd, an analyst for telecommunications market research firm TeleGeography says, “On the subject of affordable access to newly increased bandwidth, the overriding factors are local infrastructure and local commercial agreements, often dictated by political decisions, [which is] particularly true in Lebanon.”

Lebanon has had the proper fiber-optic network to handle upgraded Internet speeds in place for years, but government bickering has kept the additional bandwidth unavailable. This inaction has caused “puzzlement” among members of the telecommunications industry and the government, Shepherd says. Most current broadband subscribers would likely use a somewhat less innocuous adjective to describe their feelings about the holdup.

Lebanon is connected to the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) submarine cable that runs from mainland Europe to Cyprus, and on to Tripoli. The IMEWE cable has designated levels of bandwidth assigned to each country it is connected to, as Shepherd explains: “Of IMEWE’s overall design capacity of 3.84 Tbps [terabytes per second], 120 Gbps [gigabits per second] is allocated to Lebanon.” And Lebanon is connected to more than just the IMEWE cable.

“Increased bandwidth is also coming via other cables — potentially a larger capacity increase than the IMEWE launch,” Shepherd says, with upgrades planned for the Cadmos submarine cable that also links Lebanon and Cyprus, in addition to upgrades on the Berytar cable running between Syria and Lebanon. Clearly, and unsurprisingly, the main culprit in the failure to bring Lebanon’s connectivity up to date is not infrastructure, but rather government wrangling and bureaucracy.

Average consumers aside, perhaps the biggest beneficiary oft he upgrade will be web developers, who today find themselves constantly behind on the latest technology, trends and software. Put simply, their business is wholly dependent on connectivity. Nagib AbdelNour, head of business development at Koein, a Lebanon-based web and software development company, says that for his developers it is difficult to even download new software that is essential to keep the company current in a highly competitive market, putting the company at a distinct disadvantage to regional rivals.

One such technology currently unavailable in Lebanon is cloud computing, or the sharing of information and software over an online network. “[We’re] left out of new products, like applications. You can’t use them here,” AbdelNour says. “Cloud computing is the future of computing. It could take four years for  Lebanon to get into serious cloud computing. That’s a long time in this business. Everyone is moving to cloud computing, and for this you need a good and cheap connection.”

On a consumer level, cloud computing is used to store and share photos, music and other media through services offered by Apple, Amazon and many others. But being years behind on this technology ensures that local developers cannot stay as competitive. AbdelNour says that while the initial upgrade will be “good for today,” he warns that it is far behind other countries in the region, and as others progress Lebanon will “not be ready for tomorrow.”

Another missed opportunity for Lebanon is the global information technology (IT) outsourcing market. “All of the big corporations are outsourcing to Egypt and Dubai,” AbdelNour says. He notes that many Lebanese can speak at least three languages and that the country should, under normal circumstances, be well positioned to attract large-scale IT outsourcing contracts from some of the tech world’s biggest players. But without a fully functional, modern fiber-optics network, “you will never see them in Lebanon.”

While the revolution in Egypt has stifled economic growth and investment, the country remains a perennial favorite atop the National Outsourcing Association’s ‘Offshore Destination of the Year’, and is shortlisted for this year’s award in November. Last year alone Egypt generated over $1 billion in IT outsourcing revenues from overseas contracts, and revenue predictions for the coming years are even greater.

But even as frustrations with bureaucracy and inaction have reached fever pitch, the positive aspects of better bandwidth are countless. As businesses and consumers spend more time online, advertising rates will increase, too. According to a recent study by Omnicom Media Group, online advertising in the Levant and GCC this year should take up some 9 percent of a roughly $2 billion regional advertising market. Lebanon’s share of that can only grow with time as the means and technology catch up.

Mobile broadband is set to take off as well. TeleGeography’s Shepherd points to the vast experience that the management behind Alfa and MTCTouch — Orascom Telecom and Zain Group, respectively — have with mobile broadband networks around the world as reason to be hopeful that up-to-date technology could be quickly and efficiently implemented. “Mobile broadband —using the new upgraded Internet capacity — will of course also be very important as a means of Internet access, as in many countries around the world where cellular has often overtaken fixed access as the primary method of getting online,” he says.

Security concerns

With increased bandwidth will also come the need for better online security. According to Ziad Badaoui, product manager for security systems at BMB Group, a Beirut-based IT consulting firm that partners with Cisco, McAfee and other global online security companies, “Across the years, security threats have evolved from traditional computer viruses, which were commonly detected by legacy antivirus applications, to sophisticated, blended threats with one major target: steal as much data as possible.” Large-scale data  theft is a terrifying thought for any business owner.

According to BMB Group’s Product Manager for Security, KarimAbillama, as “businesses are moving into ‘always on’ reliable connections, allowing them to host E-services, web-based and mail services in their data centers,” the multitude of security threats will only grow. “Although this [always on] approach allows organizations such as banks, telcos [telecommunications operators] and universities to offer reliable services such as e-banking, e-portals, e-learning, outlook web access and CRM [customer relationship management], security risks from both the public accessibility of those services and the variety of threat vectors targeted at them make enterprises realize that security is a big concern.”

Abillama points to a variety of constantly evolving threats, such as denial of service (DoS) attacks and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, whereby a website is overwhelmed with a flood of data that can bring a company’s online operations to a halt. These attacks are also used to steal vital information from businesses.

Consultants at BMB Group also tackle the problem of inefficient and, in turn, costly Internet usage in the workplace.

“Solutions include enterprise class cache engines that will enhance the Internet browsing experience, lower the Internet overhead fees and offer better and faster response,” Badaoui says. “These caching solutions are usually bundled with traffic shaping solutions that help IT administrators prioritize bandwidth per service or user. Packet shaping tools ensure the availability of Internet bandwidth whenever needed, as well as fairly distributing the available bandwidth among users.”

Global markets

At an e-commerce event during Beirut’s Social Media Week in September, Louise Doumet, the co-founder of Lebanese online fashion retailer Lebelik.com, told attendees that she was surprised to notice people from all over the world were suddenly buying from her. As she put it, marketing online through Facebook and other social media brought in “clients [we] never even thought of,” through friends and acquaintances sharing links and pictures, commenting on purchases and passing it on through their personal networks.

At most, one third of the audience at the e-commerce event said they had purchased something online in Lebanon. Better and cheaper connectivity will increase this, opening up countless opportunities for businesses. Running a web-based retail business keeps overhead costs far lower than, say, a traditional storefront with high rents and costly maintenance.

The unlimited potential for small and medium-sized enterprises to thrive in a modern online environment could also spur a new generation of entrepreneurs. “Today’s social, economic and political pressures have driven the corporate environment in a continuous quest for cost reductions. Businesses must increase their responsiveness to change and continue to minimize operating costs,” says Sandra Salame, senior consultant at BMB Group. “New paradigms, such as software as a service and cloud computing are emerging; in the near future, many organizations will, for example, save cost by renting e-mail, backup and security.”

And the future benefits to citizens are endless; “Applying those trends to industries like healthcare, we would see the emergence of tele-health, doctors and medical staff collaborating together, reaching remote locations, smart connected medical devices that would relay information in real time,” Salame says.

Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of Arab Advisors, an Amman-based media consultancy firm, calls high speed Internet in Lebanon “essential, like water.” He says that Lebanon “cannot have a vibrant e-commerce or online banking sector without reliable broadband,” and wryly adds, “We’re really just stating the obvious.”

Hurdles to come

In the near term for Lebanon, “average fixed broadband speeds will double or triple,” says TeleGeography’s Shepherd, adding that “Ogero has also piloted direct fiber access [fiber-to-the-home] for end-users in Beirut, which is expected to eventually offer speeds of at least 25 Mbps [megabits per second] and hopefully higher.”

It remains to be seen just how quickly that will come into effect. “The speeds in different areas of the country also depend on how complete Ogero’s fiber-optic transmission network is. Ogero began the roll-ou tof a nationwide next generation [Internet protocol] backbone in 2010 to support the spread of high-speed services,” he adds.

In the long term, the significant increase in bandwidth will bring with it new consumer demands — such as the ability to stream high quality videos, share large media files and open up many new opportunities. It will eventually make Lebanon a far more attractive destination for multinational corporations.

TeleGeography’s research shows that the cost of an Internet connection in Lebanon on average has not changed between 2008 and 2011 “for low and high usage customers,” Shepherd says.

The telecommunications ministry’s new table of rates indicates an 80 percent drop in cost, and there is a cap on how much Internet service providers can charge consumers. With faster broadband Internet, companies can conduct video teleconferences with clients or other branches overseas. Online banking will become quicker and more prevalent. The list of knock-on effects for businesses here is infinite.

While there are many reasons to be hopeful, do not count on your Internet connection becoming lightning fast overnight, either. Shepherd says, “In South Africa too, recent new international cable launches have taken a longer time than predicted to filter down to the end-user in terms of cheaper and faster broadband, largely due to complexities in the competitive domestic wholesale bandwidth provider market.”

The many variables and complexities at play here should keep things interesting, to say the least.

 

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Consumer Society

Ian Gorsuch

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

It the Beirut launch of McLaren Automotive’s long awaited high performance car, the MP4-12C, Executive spoke with Ian Gorsuch, McLaren’s regional director for the Middle East and Africa.

A totally bespoke car, the 12C has a lightweight carbon fiber chassis structure and a 3.8-liter, V8 twin-turbo engine producing around 600 brake horse power (bhp), able to reach 0-100 kilometers per hour (km/hr) in just 3.3 seconds.

  • The MP4-12C has been a long time coming, with production of the iconic McLaren F1 ending in 1998 and the world’s best selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, in 2009. Why did it take so long?

We had a long gestation period. Over the last three years there’s been a lot of speculation about what we were doing, especially as we had no new car on the road. And because it is our first car (in such volume), there has been a lot of discussion. Perhaps we revealed too much information too early, and we should have been more circumspect in releasing information as it created such a seemingly long waiting time. But although it seems like a long time to launch, it is on time.

  • How much did McLaren invest in developing the MP4-12C?

More than $1.3 billion has been invested in the project since 2005. Around 30,000 hours were spent in simulation development, and 100,000 kilometers of prototype testing was carried out, from the Arctic to the Middle East. We could have done testing in Death Valley in the United States, where the temperatures are the highest on earth, but we thought it better to do the testing in the humidity and dust of the Gulf.

  • Will there be other MP4-12C models?

We will also be launching the MP4-12C GT3 racecar. It is not like the Porsche GT3, which can be driven on the roads; it is purely a racecar. There has been a lot of interest from race teams, and we will initially start in Europe.

  • A new trend appears to be for supercar manufacturers to downsize and improve carbon emissions. Is this the case for the MP4-12C?

The car has the lowest carbon emissions in its segment, better per horsepower than a Toyota Prius. We built in performance criteria, not just 0-100 kilometers, but also ergonomics and CO2 [carbon dioxide] levels. We are a technology-led company.

  • How else does the car differ from others in the same segment?

The problem for many people is that they have to choose a luxury vehicle for a certain job. [They need] good suspension to make driving in traffic comfortable, or a performance car for high speed, which needs rigidity and good engagement with the road. Rarely can you enjoy the two together. With the MP4-12C’s unique suspension you can feel everything on the road, high speed on bends and you are able to cruise around in town, much like the comfort of a BMW M-Series. It can be driven every day, not just for a burn out on the weekend.

  • The F1 famously had a gold covered engine. Does the MP4-12C?

No, we didn’t need it for the MP4, perhaps due to the engine size. It was only on the F1, and for heat insulation on the engine bay.

  • How many MP4s are to be produced?

About 1,000 a year. There are already around 20 on the roads in Britain. Once we get up to full production and offer different models, it will be 4,500 worldwide.

  • How many do you expect to sell in the Middle East?

We will sell around 100, so 10 percent of global sales. The order bank is more than that, but the constraint is the production capacity. The biggest market is the United States.

  • What’s the price tag?

In Dubai, AED900,000 to AED 1,000,000 [$245,000 to $272,271].

  • Are customers old clients?

There are only 106 F1s in the world at the moment, so if we sold to F1 customers it would not be a viable business. We don’t advertise, so the key is through the media and our reputation.

  • Could the financial crisis affect sales?

At our level there are a limited number of cars so we are reasonably secure. And this is indicative worldwide. Before the crisis, if someone was worth $100 million, they are now worth, say, $70 million. This has not affected their lifestyle but it has affected their purchasing psyche. It’s not value for money, but people don’t just want a badge, they want intrinsic qualities behind the badge. This is an advantage we have.

  • Can you tell us about the main investors in McLaren Automotive?

Peter Lim, a Singapore investor, has joined us along with our chairman Ron Dennis. Other investors are the TAG Group, headed by [Saudi businessman] Mansour Ojjeh, and Mumtalakat Holding Co., the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund (with 50 percent). So we now have European, Middle Eastern and Asian investors, bringing new money, equity and experience to the board. We are perhaps the best funded car company in the world.

  • What is your regional presence in the Middle East?

We have six new showrooms; a 400 square meter showroom in Dubai, which is to open in November, and in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait. And we have eight service points, including Beirut, as a lot of Gulf nationals bring their cars to Lebanon in the summer and need the confidence that their car can be looked after.

Asia is the next step, with Osaka, Singapore and Hong Kong. We will be opening 35 new showrooms in 19 countries. It has been very exciting but [there has been] a lot of pressure, as no luxury brand has done in such a short time span a global launch with showrooms for just one car. We have had to train technicians at our facility in Woking, England, create unique dealer ordering portals and sign dealership contracts.

  • Is McLaren facing problems with the gray market?

The gray market is a problem for every luxury manufacturer, and it is costing the second buyer a lot of money. I heard of one car sold on Ebay, worth $280,000, that was offered online for $411,000. It was sold to a trader for $445,000.

  • When it was launched in 1993, the McLaren F1 was the world’s fastest production road car with a top speed of 386 kilometers per hour. British actor Rowan Atkinson, known for his role as Mr. Bean, crashed his F1 in early August in England. Have you any news?

Atkinson is fine and his car is being repaired. The press undervalued the car at $3.2 million. It is actually worth $5.76 million as there are only a few in existence worldwide.

“People don’t just want a badge, they want intrinsic qualities behind the badge. This is an advantage we have”

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Economics & Policy

For your information

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

Huff, and puff, and blow ,your smoke out

Non-smokers will be breathing a breath of fresh air after a new anti-smoking law was passed by Lebanon’s parliament last month. The law, which has been in the pipeline since 2004, was slow to come to fruition but was spurred on recently by both civil society and the press. It prohibits smoking in certain indoor and outdoor locations including bars, restaurants, schools, hospitals, public and private offices and on public transportation. It also bans any form of tobacco advertising, including promotion and sponsorship. In addition, the law increases the size of the required health warnings on cigarette packages to 40 percent of the surface area of a pack. Hotels were granted some leeway by being permitted to allow smoking in 20 percent of their rooms. Penalties to be introduced range from a fine of $663 to $1,990 for establishments that are caught allowing smoking indoors, as well as a fine of $66.3 for individuals caught smoking in public spaces. Implementation is to take place gradually over the next year, allowing establishments and businesses to recalibrate their activities accordingly.  “A long road ahead to achieve effective implementation awaits us,” said a statement released last month by the health ministry’s National Tobacco Control Program unit. “The previous partial law passed in 1996 was very weakly implemented; it is necessary to prevent the tobacco industry and its allies from once again standing in the way of effective implementation.”

Enough energy to bring ,down a cabinet

Cracks in the cabinet began to emerge last month when a bill proposed by MP and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to borrow $1.18 billion to fund electricity projects from 2011 to 2014 was not passed from the cabinet to parliament. Aoun threatened to pull his ministers out of the cabinet if the bill was not passed, and as Executive went to print a deal had not yet been hammered out. The project proposes to produce 700 megawatts of electricity at a cost of $850.4 million using combined cycle gas turbines, as well as $247 million on transportation of power, $38.5 million on distribution and $40 million for consulting. According to the energy minister, the additional 700 megawatts could decrease average power rationing around the country by up to seven hours per day. If the power was only partially distributed to curb rationing by an average of 4 hours and repairs on the rest of the aging infrastructure were completed, estimated savings of $460 million per year for the treasury could be achieved and individual households could save $730 million to $1.3 billion on expenditures for private generator companies, said Energy Minister Gebran Bassil.

Assuming a deficit fall

The finance ministry seemed to shift the goal posts in the latest release of public finances last month, which stated that the total fiscal deficit had fallen 4.8 percent in the first half of the year. According to their figures, the 2011 deficit through June came in at $908.7 million. Government expenditure was put at $5.63 billion, a rise of 7.3 percent on the same period in 2010, while revenues were believed to have risen to $4.77 billion, a 9.8 percent rise. The smaller deficit figure, however, factors in revenues estimated by the telecom ministry totaling $704 million over the first six months of 2011, even though this sum has not yet been transferred to the treasury. The government’s largest expenditure item, debt servicing, shrank slightly during the first six months of this year to $1.9 billion, a fall of 0.5 percent year-on-year, constituting 33.8 percent of total expenditures. Interest payments on domestic debt made up $1.2 billion of that total in the first half of this year, with the primary surplus — the government’s income statement without debt servicing — at $1.13 billion, fractionally different than in 2010.

Welcome news on the web

The price of legal Internet in Lebanon looks set to fall after the adoption of a ministerial decree last month by the cabinet. The decree, which was proposed by the telecom ministry, details a new breakdown of prices and bandwidth caps for different categories of Internet speeds. The changes will take effect one month from the projected publication in the official gazette on August 29. The price list was not yet made public but was leaked to the pro-opposition Al Mustaqbal newspaper and confirmed as accurate by several telecom experts. The changes will see the slowest available residential Internet package rise in capacity — from 128 kilobits per second (kbps) with a bandwidth cap of 2 gigabits (GB) per month to 1 megabit (mbps) per second with a cap of 4 GB — while falling in price, from $23.21 to $15.90. The highest available residential package will rise from 2.3 mbps with an 8 GB cap to 8 mbps with a 30 GB cap, while decreasing in price from $199.00 to $114.09. The telecom ministry also announced that the 3G mobile Internet service will have a test-run on some 4,000 clients by mid-September, with the service available to the general public by the end of the year.

Business feeling blue

The feeling amongst the top hirers in the country is that business has been stagnant in 2011 but may well emerge from the doldrums come next year, according to a new survey conducted by the job site Bayt.com. Bayt’s latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) stated that 45 percent of Lebanese respondents believe that business has been stagnant this year while only 13 percent think things are going well, with the remaining 36 percent offering a neutral response. Nonetheless, 34 percent of respondents think that next year things will improve, while around half that percentage believes things are heading south in a year’s time. The June CCI index itself decreased year-on-year by 19.7 percent to 98.3 points. Asked whether salaries make up for the increasing cost of living in Lebanon, 71 percent said that they did not.

Buttressing the maritime border

The issue of the location of Lebanon’s maritime border has finally been resolved, at least as far as the Lebanese government is concerned. Last month, Lebanon’s parliament passed a law demarcating the country’s maritime border with Cyprus and “Occupied Palestine” for the first time. The law sets out Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone from which it can extract what many expect to be hydrocarbon resources present under the seabed. The move comes after Israel submitted its own proposal regarding maritime borders, in which it drew its boundary according to a previous agreement between Tel Aviv and Nicosia that adopted “Point 1” as the boundary 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 “Point 23” as the ending point, which is around 17 kilometers southwest of Point 1 and corresponds to Israel’s existing northernmost contract blocs, areas where oil and gas companies can come to explore and extract hydrocarbon resources. The differences have resulted in a disputed area of some 854 square kilometers and have fueled fears of potential conflict over the area. Israel has already found large deposits of gas in its northern fields and is in the process of extracting them, while Lebanon has not yet had its first bidding round or set out contract blocs. The agreements signed with Nicosia by both Israel and Lebanon (which never ratified the agreement in Parliament) each allow for an adjustment of Point 1. Last month, the foreign ministry requested to the United Nations Secretary General that the UN step in as arbitrator to resolve the issue.

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Real estate

For your information

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

Solidere’s ups and downs

Solidere, Lebanon’s largest firm by market capitalization, will be distributing $147 million in dividends to shareholders, as approved at the Ordinary General Assembly held by the real estate company on August 1. Of this, $61 million will be paid out in cash, while the majority, $86 million, will be distributed as shares. This comes after a 19 percent drop in sales through the first half of 2011, with share prices hitting a two-year low of $15.85 in the last week of August. At the same time, Citi Investment Research & Analysis, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, valued Solidere’s target price per share at $31 in August, though it said the company’s shares were “high risk”.  They also warned that they may not be able to reach the target price, due to concerns that those planning to build on plots already purchased from Solidere may have trouble securing financing and making payments, given the economic slowdown and tightening of credit in the region. The company currently owns a land bank of 1.9 million square meters, valued at about $7.5 billion based on current market prices.  In an August 18 press release, Solidere unveiled their plans for Zeitouneh Square, a public garden behind the Starco building in Beirut Central District, with the company’s master plan stipulating the allocation of 50 percent of the total land area to public spaces and gardens. It plans to complete four other public squares in the near future as part of this overall plan.

Increased construction of the humble abode

While the number of construction permits increased 21.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2011, to 9,728, according to figures from the Order of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the actual construction area authorized by permits increased by just 5 percent to 8.77 million square meters (sqm). These numbers indicate that developers are increasingly interested in smaller plots, possibly to deliver buildings with small-sized apartments (less than 250 sqm) to accommodate demand, according to a recent report by real estate advisory RAMCO. Supply indicators in Lebanon have been low through the first half of 2011. Unlike during the first half of 2010 and 2009, when cement deliveries increased 9.2 and 19.8 percent, respectively, deliveries rose just 2.9 percent in the first half of this year, in parallel with the slow progression of construction activity. Tons of cement delivered reached 2,662,000, according to figures from Banque Du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, and in June cement deliveries increased 18.3 percent year-on-year, putting an end to a downward trend seen earlier in 2011.

Rising up amid an uprising

In an August 2 company statement, Dubai-based mall developer Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Properties said it had started foundation work the week before on its $1 billion mixed-use project in Syria, its first in the country, which will cover 1.5 million square meters in the Yaafour district west of Damascus. The news is surprising given the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which has engulfed Syria and hobbled its economy since March. The first phase of the Khams Shamat project, slated for completion by 2014, will include hotels, residences, offices and commercial space. Peter Walichnowski, chief executive officer of MAF, said that the foundation work is “in preparation for the buildings’ development and the completion of works related to roads, electricity, water, sanitation and public services.” MAF has three other major projects underway in Lebanon, Egypt and the UAE.

Israel’s cynical use of housing crisis

Israel’s Ministry of Interior gave final approval on August 11 to the construction of 1,600 new units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo in the occupied West Bank, with an impending approval of 2,700 additional units. Israeli officials claimed the move came in response to protests over soaring real estate prices in Jerusalem, a claim that anti-settlement group Peace Now called a “cynical use” of the housing crisis, according to The New York Times. The settlements were initially proposed in March 2010 during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, an apparently deliberate affront to the Obama administration’s calls for a permanent cessation to settlement building. On August 4, 900 new homes were approved in Har Homa, a settlement just north of Bethlehem, also in the West Bank.  European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the settlement approvals, telling Agence France-Presse, “The European Union has repeatedly urged the government of Israel to immediately end all settlement activities in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem. All settlement activities are illegal under international law.” The area is a point of contention between the Palestinian Authority, which views East Jerusalem as the capital of any future Palestinian state, and the Israeli government, which has insisted on a unified Jerusalem as its capital in the event of a two-state solution. It was originally annexed from Jordan after the 1967 war.

Getting real on land prices     

The last quarter was the worst in the past five years for the real estate industry in Lebanon, according to property advisory firm RAMCO’s second-quarter report, citing limited land sales and especially slow sales in the luxury segment of the residential market, where the price per square meter (sqm) is $5,000 or above. The report called the continually rising price of land “worrying”, and said that realistic selling prices would not justify the cost of the plots to land buyers, thus concluding that landowners will eventually re-align their expectations with market realities and lower their prices. Demand mostly exists for smaller apartments, under 250 sqm, at prices ranging between $500,000 and $800,000 each; two projects with a built-up area of nearly 10,000 sqm each “were almost entirely sold out in a very short period of time” because they offered small-sized apartments at a fair market price. In the commercial sector, the report said that Grade A, purpose-built offices are undersupplied in Beirut and are mostly concentrated in the Beirut Central District (BCD). Estimated Rental Values (ERV) in BCD are $325 to $375 per sqm per year in the Park Avenue area, and $275 to $325 per sqm per year in the Beirut Souks area. Other business areas like Tabaris offer some high-end office buildings with ERV between $250 and $275 per sqm per year. It also noted that Verdun and Clemenceau have ERVs of $250 to $275 and $225 to $250 per sqm per year, respectively.

Bringing life to the Dead Sea

On July 28, the Jordanian government, along with the Jordanian Development Zones Company (JDZ), announced a 25-year development plan to create a touristic and commercial area within 12 zones along the northern coast of the Dead Sea. The chief executive officer of JDZ, Taha Zboun, said that the project was openly looking for both local and foreign investors (small and medium sized) to undertake development on the 59 plots up for sale, while also claiming it would create jobs for thousands of locals. Though the vision for the corniche boulevard is to create a string of hotels, malls and restaurants within the touristic zone, the project will also focus on boosting infrastructure, including an investment of $250.5 million in a desalination station. American development firm, Sasaki Associates, has been appointed to lead the consortium for master planning purposes.

$4.08 billion backlog for UAE construction giant

The UAE’s biggest construction company by market value, Arabtec, has posted a 67 percent drop in first-half net profits — hitting just less than $27 million — following a 74 percent drop in second-quarter profit as multiple project delays took their toll on the balance sheet, reported the company in a statement on August 7. Chet Riley, an analyst at Dubai’s Nomura Bank, told Gulf News in an August 8 article that payment transfers from profits also took a toll; “around 35 per cent of Arabtec’s actual profit in the second quarter was actually paid out to minority interests… We are finding revenues are slightly lower across the board due to delays in starting up new projects.” Its current backlog of projects stands at $4.08 billion, of which a third comprises a 5,000-home project to be built in a joint venture with the Saudi Bin Laden Group in Saudi Arabia. On August 17, the builder announced it had won a $76.2 million construction contract from Nakheel to build 523 homes in Dubai’s Jumeirah Village Circle, to be completed by the end of 2012.

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Banking & Finance

Regional equity markets

by Executive Editors
written by Executive Editors

Beirut SE  

Current year high: 886.37       Current year low: 882.02

>  Review period:  Closed August 26 at 886.37 points     Period Change: -3%

Investors found little time for Beirut stocks in a tumultuous month for international equity markets and amid escalating events in Syria. Trade volumes were unusually low even by Ramadan standards and proved as uninspiring as this summer’s tourist numbers. The affirmation of Lebanon’s credit rating by Moody’s with a stable outlook meant little to Solidere investors who were bitten by a 19 percent decline in property sales in the first half of 2011. Shares of the real estate developer plummeted 6.8 percent to a 2-year low of $15.85, while banks came in slightly ahead of the market.

Amman SE  

Current year high: 2,477.99                Current year low: 2,03.71

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 2,028.1 points     Period Change: -2.6%

Amman stocks watched from the sidelines as neighboring equity markets spiraled downwards in August. Although the index retreated during the first week, it has since been on strong footing, backed by renewed political stability as the government pushes forward its promised reforms. A troubling increase in the budget deficit during the first six months was partly mitigated by a new agreement with Iraq to increase oil imports. Meanwhile, Royal Jordanian reported heavy losses in the first half due to regional turmoil, sending the stock down 19.5 percent through August 25.

Abu Dhabi Exchange  

Current year high: 2,833.09                Current year low: 2,491.65

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 2,590.49 points     Period Change: -1.1%

The rebound of ADX stocks stumbled on the downgrade by S&P of the US credit rating in early August. The emirate’s banks had reported strong second-quarter earnings when energy and real estate stocks were struck by rising fears of a new global recession. Dana Gas and Aldar fell 11.3 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, during our review period while National Bank of Abu Dhabi was slightly better off at -0.5 percent. Abu Dhabi plans to face fresh global economic uncertainty with new blood after a shake-up of leading company managers, including at Aldar.

Dubai FM  

Current year high: 1,781.92                Current year low: 1,352.24

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 1,465.01 points     Period Change: -3.5%

The region’s international hub was synching more with global equity malaise than listening to positive domestic indicators. Skepticism spread to major stocks, dragging Emaar Properties down 3.5 percent despite the group reporting a 20% increase in hospitality revenues in the second quarter. Similarly, Emirates NBD slipped 7 percent during our review period, although Fitch removed the ratings of the bank from negative watch, citing Dubai government support. Thin trading also showed how equities took second stage to gold trading, in addition to the typical Ramadan calm.

Kuwait SE  

Current year high: 7,129.30                Current year low: 5,764.30

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 5,785.6 points     Period Change: -4.1%

Kuwait’s exchange continued to nose dive in August, hitting a dangerous seven-year low in the benchmark index. Kuwait closed August trading almost 63 percent below the KSE’s June 2008 historic high tide mark. Latest corporate results were just as discouraging, with Agility reporting a 57 percent decline in net income in the second quarter with less government business, sending the stock down 10.2 percent during our review period.

Saudi Arabia SE  

Current year high: 6,788.42                Current year low: 5,323.27

>  Review period:  Closed August 24 at 5,979.3 points     Period Change: -6.5%

Domestic market sentiment took a direct hit from rising fears of a global recession. Stocks tumbled following the downgrade of US debt, which represents a major chunk of the kingdom’s portfolio. Petrochemical stocks slid 11% during the month as the Tadawul’s powerful stock SABIC dropped 10.5% among Ramadan trading volumes. A recent report by Global Finance Magazine said that Saudi Arabia hosts five of the 10 safest banks in the Middle East.

Muscat SM  

Current year high: 7,027.32                Current year low: 5,426.56

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 5,584.67 points     Period Change: -3.8%

Muscat securities investors were flooded by a flurry of corporate and regulatory announcements during a supposedly quiet month, with the Capital Market Authority introducing margin trading to boost the exchange’s activity. But the Renaissance Services conglomerate announced a disappointing 71 percent drop in first-half profits and revealed fraudulent activities at its Topaz unit, pushing the stock into a 24.3 percent fall during our review period. Other investors struck gold in Omantel’s 7.1 percent gain following the announcement of strong revenues in the second quarter.

Bahrain Bourse  

Current year high: 1,475.10                Current year low: 1,259.80

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 1,260.95 points     Period Change: -2.4%

Ever declining Bahraini stocks were dominated by negative sentiment echoing Europe and the US. A steady market decline since late February’s civil unrest has cost stocks nearly 12 percent so far in 2011 and the trend appears unwavering. The country heads for elections in September to replace resigned opposition politicians, adding another layer of uncertainty to already murky global and domestic waters. Banking stocks faced rising investor uncertainty, falling 3.15 percent during the month through August 25, with Ahli United Bank leading the decline by 4.2 percent.

Qatar SE  

Current year high: 9,242.63                Current year low: 7,195.88

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 8,171.48 points     Period Change: -2.8%

Industries Qatar, the country’s second largest stock, called back investors from their Ramadan escape, after adjusting its profit goals upwards for 2011 and putting on hold a steel expansion project. Traders rushed to book their profits, especially amid mounting global economic concerns, driving the stock down 12.2 percent through August 25. Outside the petrochemicals arena, sectors continued to show some strength, with banks adding 0.5% during the period, led by Qatar Islamic Bank, which rose 1.5% after its credit rating was affirmed by Fitch.

Tunis SE  

Current year high: 5,681.39                Current year low: 4,058.53

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 4,476.94 points     Period Change: +1.3%

While global investors were getting burnt in international equity markets, Tunisian investors have put on a nice summer tan. The Tunindex led Middle East exchanges under coverage for the third consecutive month, signaling a steady return of domestic and foreign investors to a reinvigorated market. The country introduced a new press code and launched a successful electoral role registration process, sending positive shockwaves to the country’s tourism industry. Several stocks registered strong gains, including market heavyweight, Poulina Group, which rose 4.7 percent through August 25.

Casablanca SE  

Current year high: 13,397.47              Current year low: 10,784.67

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 11,277.3 points     Period Change: +0.7%

Casablanca stocks were on the offensive in August as the country took delivery of the first batch of F-16 jets from the US. The market index performed near the top of MENA exchanges, buoyed by banking stocks which rose 1.6 percent during our review period. Despite minor dismay over several electoral law items, the announcement of parliamentary elections in November rejuvenated investor sentiment. Positive news

also included tourist numbers, rising 6 percent during the first half of the year.

Egypt SE  

Current year high: 7,210.00                Current year low: 4,478.00

>  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 4,676.05 points     Period Change: -7.1%

Fresh financial support from Saudi Arabia and the World Bank to post-Mubarak Egypt took the backseat to rising tensions between the country and Israel following a military incident in the Sinai desert. Stocks had originally tumbled along with global equities, but the rebound in the second half of the month was limited by fears of escalation on the northeastern border. Losses at market heavyweight Telecom Egypt were limited to 3.9 percent despite reporting an 11 percent drop in net profits in the second quarter.

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