Banking & Finance

Real estate – Loan for a home

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

With property prices around the country appreciating significantly, more and more Lebanese are trying to beat the inflationary trend by buying a home. And the country’s banks are offering a plethora of home and housing loans.

The rise of real estate prices and stagnation of consumers’ purchasing buying power in regards to acquiring property, especially homes, has compromised individuals’ ability to purchase a home in Lebanon, according to Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL). “The weakness of the local rental offer in regards to meeting consumers’ growing needs and high demand, in addition to the over- cautiousness of these local lenders, has magnified the severity of this situation,” said Michel Fiani, strategy and marketing manager at SGBL.
Banks have identified this need and targeted a population of prospective homeowners with housing loans that may vary from one banking institution to another, whether in their features or their potential market.
The Intercontinental Bank of Lebanon (IBL) home loan is dedicated to a large client base whether employees, member of syndicates or entrepreneurs, Lebanese residents or nonresidents, whose age may vary from 21 to 64 (at loan maturity). Borrowers are expected to earn a minimum wage of $600 while salary domiciliation is required for employees who also ought to have a minimum two years experience in their respective field. The minimum amount for the IBL loan varies between $5,000 and $500,000 (special cases for more than $500,000 are also treated on exceptional basis), while the total amount of the loan will not cover more than 90% of the property price. Interest is digressive and based on the US-$ LIBOR.
Last June, SGBL introduced a new version of its SOGEHOME loan. The program has carefully adapted and responded to the current needs of the market and most individuals’ financial profiles and capabilities. The SOGEHOME loan from SGBL is characterized by a longer amortization period that may stretch over 25 years, a diminution of the personal down-payment requirement (starting from 14%), as well as, for a limited period of time, a 0% interest rate granted on home loans acquired before the end of 2008.
The home loan offered by Credit Libanais is also destined to finance the purchase of a residence or land as well as the renovation or the enlargement of a property. While repayments are usually done in equal monthly installments with each equal to or less than one third of the borrower’s salary, no ceiling is actually imposed on the amount lent. In addition, loan applicants benefit from a grace period of up to six months and the bank is ready to cover as much as 80% of the property value. Credit Libanais offers a special interest rate of 4.5% for the first year, and afterwards the interest rate is revised annually depending on market rates (LIBOR + 4.5% with a minimum of 7.75 %). “To succeed in our corporate mission, we at Credit Libanais have developed a new approach to serve retail customers and marketing our countless products. We have turned each branch into a one- stop-shop that offers clients a wide variety of products and services to meet specific needs,” said Alain Hakim, assistant general manager at Credit Libanais Group.

Range of loan options
The Lebanon Home Loan offered by HSCB, “allows customers in Lebanon and throughout the region to arrange all financial transactions regardless if they’re in the country or in, say, Dubai, since HSBC has such a wide regional footprint,” said Tony Graham, senior manager at HSBC Lebanon. And because HSBC Lebanon is a branch of HSBC Middle East Ltd. it profits from Moody’s AA2 rating, and can offer the lowest international rates at LIBOR plus 2.75%.
Byblos Bank offers a loan dubbed “the doctors and dentists housing loan,” which caters to this particular segment of professionals. Single applicants are expected to boast a minimum monthly income of 900,000LL ($600), and 1,200,000LL ($800) if married. Like for other loans, candidates are required to have been employed over two years in the same company, or the same sector if they are self-employed. The loan amount covers 80% of the price of property in the case of a finished apartments, 60% of the rent amount for rented apartments, 50% in the case of a house construction project, and 100% in case of renovation of house as long as the investment does not exceed 50% of the house value. The bank does not place a limitation on the loan amount and the interest is calculated on the base of LIBOR to which 3.5% are added. Repayment period is usually between seven and 30 years.
At BBAC, home loans usually cover an amount of up to $500,000 or its Euro equivalent, on which is applied an interest rate of LIBOR plus 4% when the loan is dollar denominated, or Eurobor plus 4% when denominated in Euros. A grace period of up to 18 months is granted, while first year interest is an average of 5%.
Muhiedine Fathallah, head of consumer credit product at Bank Med, where home loans also know no ceiling or limit whether on the salary amount or property value, underlined that most home loan products are all linked to the LIBOR, varying from 7% to 10% on average. “In the last year, we have noticed an impressive growth in the home loan market. More and more people are buying property in order to either try beating the towering real estate market prices or for investment purposes. This has prompted the Lebanese Central Bank to issue a circular preventing banks from lending an amount covering more than 60% of a specific property value to borrowers who already have one apartment,” he added.
The manager expects the interest on home loans to remain low for the next two years, a factor which should further encourage clients to seek home loans. “Loans provided by the Housing Bank (Iskan Bank), which is an institution jointly owned by most large Lebanese banks offering special loans up to a certain value [$250,000] and excluding registration fees [on average amounting to 6%] have nearly doubled this year alone,” Fathallah said.
In addition to the loan offered by the housing bank, most Lebanese banks also offer the Iskan or PCH loan in coordination with the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH). “This product is relatively the same from one bank to another, the only differences residing in the down- payment on the property and insurance fees” said Charles Mansour, head of loans at IBL.
At Bank Audi the PCH loan amount range is between 20,000,000LL ($13,300) and 180,000,000LL ($120,000). This particular type of loan provides financing for 80% of the property value with an interest rate based on the price of two-year treasury bills (40% of two-year T-Bills to which 3.5% is added).
The repayment period is scheduled over a maximum of 30 years split evenly between the bank and the PHC, and when a loan is destined to renovation works, the amount will cover up to 50% of the apartment value. The loan is free of any registration, mortgage or stamp fees. Eligible candidates’ income may vary between 1,000,000LL ($666) and 3,000,000LL ($2,000) if they are employed in the private sector and between 800,000LL ($533) and 3,000,000LL ($2,000) if in the public sector. Borrowers will have to opt for the domiciliation of their salary at the bank and provide a proof of registration in the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Like in all housing bank loans, monthly installments should not exceed one third of the borrower’s revenue and one quarter of his income if he is self- employed or belonging to a liberal profession. For the latter two categories, candidates are expected to submit proof of income: a balance sheet covering the last three years of operation, a statement of account and legal documents when borrowers are also shareholders of a company. File fees are applicable to the loan, which amount to 1% of the total loan along with life insurance premiums, calculated on the base of the applicant’s age and tenure.

Loans in phases
In addition to these loans, in August Bank of Beirut (BoB) unveiled its new housing loan. Roger Dagher, head of the finance department at Bank of Beirut underlined that the PCH Plus loan offered by his bank, although similar to regular PCH loan, carries additional interesting features. Like the regular PCH loan, PCH Plus is granted over a maximum of thirty years, depending on the borrower’s age at loan inception. Eligible candidates are required to earn a monthly maximum of as much as ten times the minimum official salary (equivalent to $2,000). Like in regular loans, the maximum monthly payment should not exceed one third of the average monthly income of the borrower. The PCH Plus time period is divided into two equal phases like the regular PCH loan, where the borrower pays back to the bank the principal of the loan during the first phase and the accumulated interest to PCH during the second phase.
The loan interest is set by the PCH protocol and reviewed every two years, being tied to the two-year T- Bills coupon rate. The borrower is required to deposit 10% of the loan amount in the bank at inception, which will be discounted from accumulated interest during the first phase. In addition to a first degree mortgage, a mandatory insurance including life and fire coverage for the whole loan period is settled during Phase One.
The main difference between PCH Plus and the regular PCH loan, Dagher explained, “resides in one variation that allows the borrower to pay back only the principal of the loan during Phase One without paying back the accumulated interest to the PCH during the second phase, which is why we call this particular product the ‘zero interest loan’.”
In order to benefit from this cost saving, the borrower is required to make a deposit representing up to 11% of the chosen loan amount. This deposit earns interest at the regular loan interest rate and can be returned to the borrower at his request, if he chooses to end the relationship prior to loan maturity, which is subject to full settlement of the loan. With the PCH Plus program, BoB finances up to 100% of the loan, contrary to other housing loans. The customer may pay to BoB, as the required deposit, the down-payment he would pay to the owner of the apartment.
Dagher believes that the PCH Plus loan is more borrower friendly as the bank settles accumulated interest on behalf of the customer. In addition, the property will also be free of any lien at the end of Phase One, which provides the borrower with a greater margin of freedom.
“The PCH Plus loan provides young Lebanese the possibility to finance property at low interest rates. This particular loan emphasizes the social role Bank of Beirut is currently playing,” Dagher added. On the other hand, the manager estimates that this particular type of loan offers the bank greater exposure and reinforces its leading position in the marketplace.
“We believe this product will definitely be successful because it provides borrowers with flexible and advantageous conditions. In my opinion, the product has massive potential: it is possible for Bank of Beirut in one year to grant clients more than 1,000 loans”, Dagher said.
Around, the city, large billboards touting the merits of various home loans seem to be mushrooming. And the campaigns certainly generated popular interest. As Fathallah concluded, “Not only is it attracting attention on the banks commissioning the campaign, but it is also encouraging clients of the different institutions to seek home loans from their own bank as they become aware that buying a house on credit is a relatively easy and affordable process.”

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Banking & Finance

IPO Watch – A Saudi summer

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

The leader in Middle Eastern primary market action in August came — as has been the case for several other months of this year — from Saudi Arabia. The initial public offering of Methanol Chemicals Co (Chemanol) was worth $193 million and accounted for 79% of the aggregate amount of $245 million available last month in IPOs around the region. Different to numerous other recent IPOs which were green-field ventures, the Chemanol flotation originated from a company that has a substantial history of manufacturing activity — it was established in 1989 — which sought a flotation to obtain new capital for corporate expansion.

Its area of activity may be less splendorous than Islamic banking, but Chemanol allocated 70% of the offering to retail buyers, demonstrating confidence that it would be able to get retail investors interested in its offering at a price of SAR 12 ($3.2) per share, which included an offering premium of SAR 2 ($0.53). First results of the IPO showed that demand indeed reached high, with subscriptions totaling $1.1 billion.
Last month saw four other smaller IPOs seeking to raise between $7.8 million and $16.3 million in capital, all in Jordan. Two firms in the real estate sector each offered slightly less than half of their equity to investors; the other two offerings came from a credit card and an investment company.
A total of five companies started trading around the region in an environment of traditionally low August volumes, with international markets additionally subdued by worries over volatile energy markets, unending financial crises and recession talk. The five firms are Sohar Power in Oman, Tunisian conglomerate Poulina Group, Astra Industrial Group on the Saudi Stock Exchange, Jordanian real estate firm Amwaj Properties and the UAE’s Dar al Takaful insurance company.
Even as the last month was tough on MENA bourses, all five debutants had a decent or good start, achieving first-day gains of 12% to 437% — the latter feat was accomplished by Islamic insurer Dar al Takaful on the Dubai Financial Market and it underscores the current comparative edge of Arab bourses in the emerging markets theater. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets’ top summer IPO of China South Locomotive, which raised $1.49 billion in August on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, managed a 58% gain on its first trading day in Shanghai, but disappointed in Hong Kong with a measly 1% burp. India’s Reliance Power, which has been battered on the bourse since its Jan 2008 IPO, in August scrapped the IPO of a telecoms equipment subsidiary, Reliance Infratel.

Heavyweight Arab IPOs
Although Middle Eastern investors were expected to have their minds a little less on sprinting after shares and a little more on summer diversions, two well-known Arab companies chose August to start large rights issues that will extend into September. Big money was sought by regional telecommunications operator Zain Group through its $4.5 billion rights issue for a 75% capital increase on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, which opened on August 17 and will run until September 18. A second notable rights issue was that of Egypt’s Al Ezz Steel. The company, one of the country’s leading manufacturers and an important player on the regional materials scene, announced on August 7 that it would seek to triple its share capital by offering almost 365 million new shares between August 26 and September 25 in a rights issue worth $341 million.
Also a September timeframe was selected for the $98 million telecommunications industry IPO of Kuwait’s third mobile operator. Kuwait Telecommunications Co, which was formally established in July as a company with 26% stake holding by state entities and 24% ownership by Saudi communications group STC, is offering 250 million shares, representing 50% of its capital, for subscription at a share price of $0.39.
Much more is expected for September and for the fourth quarter of 2008, with travel and tourism related IPOs something to watch for. The National Air Services offering on the Saudi Stock Exchange has been announced with a size of $600 million for 30% in the company, although the subscription period has yet to be set. In October, the Al Tayyar Travel Group will look to raise $320 million, also on the SSE, while Dubai-based retail and real estate group Aswaaq is said to plan offering 55% of its equity for participation in the same month.
Media reports from Kuwait said that the Kuwait Stock Exchange’s technical committee approved listing of four new companies, including Wataniya Airlines (or Kuwait National Airlines Co), which had sold 350 million shares, for $123.5 million, through an IPO in early 2006 and intends to start operating as a luxury carrier in 2009.

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Banking & Finance

Construction – Cement syndicate

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

What could prompt the cooperative efforts of a Lebanese bank to engage a French building materials company and 15 additional regional and international financial institutions from all over the globe and seal a $380 million deal? Apparently, cement is the glue behind one of largest private financing syndicates for industrial projects in the Levant.

“The current construction boom in the Middle East which has increased the consumption of cement, combined with an acute shortage in the region, has driven cement prices to unprecedented levels. Our region, and Syria in particular, has a shortage of about 4 million tons per year,” explained Ramzi Saliba, General Manager of Bank Audi’s corporate banking division. The Syrian cement deficit comes alongside an ongoing housing crisis and lack of raw materials, a result of decades of nationalization and the centralized economic policies under the ruling Baath Party.
For decades cement production remained a state monopoly in Syria. However, recent circumstances have prompted the Syrian government to open the sector to private investors, and to compensate by introducing a limited liberalized economy. “Contrary to common belief, Syria has modernized and liberalized its laws considerably in the last few years,” Saliba confirmed. “That, coupled with the explosion in construction has made cement a very attractive sector for Bank Audi, now and for years to come.”
Bank Audi, coordinator and leader of the syndication, is among the first banks to set up in Syria after the government allowed private banks five years ago. “Private banking in Syria is still in its infancy stages, and it is a natural place for Lebanese banks to take hold of opportunities, more so than any other country. We know the market well, we know the people well, many large Syrian names and corporations have been the clients of Lebanese banks for 40 years, so we know the business very well,” Saliba said.
As far as Bank Audi’s interest in putting together a bridge loan in Syria, Saliba outlined that, “This deal was in line with the regional expansion strategy of Bank Audi, helped by several factors. The main reason was the shying away of larger international financial institutions on large deal because of the economic crunch that’s taking place in the US and Europe. That gave us a really great chance.”
Capitalizing on the window of opportunity, Bank Audi pursued Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries. Saliba detailed the progress of the operation: “We had started discussions with Orascom Construction, OCI, and in the interim, Lafarge bought OCI’s cement business. We asked them to carry on with the discussions, and they saw how far into the deal we’d gotten, so they continued working with us; it worked out.”
Global leaders in building materials, French cement maker Lafarge boosted its market position to No. 1 in the region after acquiring the cement business of Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries at the close of 2007. Having secured the deal with Bank Audi for its subsidiary, Syrian Cement Company, Lafarge Group will now continue its expansion in the Middle East with the setup of a greenfield cement plant near Aleppo.
The new plant is scheduled to begin production in 2010, and will have the capacity to generate 2.9 million tons per annum. This should help put Syria on its way to meeting its cement demands, which are expected to grow drastically from 7 million tons per year today to around 18 million tons in the next three years due to the surge in real estate, construction, and tourism development.
The considerable size of the bridge loan, which stands be replaced after 18 months by a longer-term loan, and more importantly the union of so many diverse investors serve as clear indication of Bank Audi’s notable regional role. “It’s the first such transaction done by a Lebanese bank, in terms of region or even international financing opportunities,” Saliba said. “It’s the first, and certainly not the last for Audi, and I hope for other Lebanese banks who may be contemplating an effective regional role.”

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Banking & Finance

Private equity – An absence of exits

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

On any given day, a scour of Middle East business news reveals that private equity in the region is ‘hot’, owing to favorable conditions at the macroeconomic level or data on fundraising and investment, which seem to be getting bigger. Watchers of the asset class meticulously track which funds are looking for which companies and which opportunities and sectors are attracting the most private equity. The asset class’ behemoths and large-sized deals in infrastructure and other industries dominate headlines. On the surface, the coverage of the asset class looks healthy.

However, the component of private equity which is less covered than capital raised and investments is the arm of the asset class which offers the best indicator of performance, the exit. Without appropriate exit data, it has been difficult to see what trend is following the explosive growth in the other sub-data available on private equity, beckoning the question: whither to the exits in Middle Eastern private equity?
A dearth of evidence continues to pervade estimates, but some figures have indicated that only 5-10% of private equity deals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have been exited. With private equity comprising 45% of aggregate investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 35% in Saudi Arabia, the relation between money invested and return on investment can indicate several things that a purely deal-side analysis cannot, including the asset class’ performance, potential pitfalls, and lagged performance to see if larger funds are or are not commensurate with larger internal rates of return (IRRs), the derivate used in calculating the success of funds, with ranges at 15-20% on the lower end and up to 100% in more lucrative examples. Because of some poor performance in regional bourses, private equity houses seem to be holding investments for a bit longer, waiting for appropriate exit options. With funds raised, investments complete and deals outstanding, limited partners (LPs) are going to starting demanding a return on their investment within the appropriate bounds of the fund timelines.

M&A doesn’t count
Distinct merger and acquisition (M&A) activity lies on a separate sheet from pure private equity. In M&A, a buyer bids and acquires firms to enlarge businesses both horizontal and vertically. In the case of horizontal M&A, a firm might be a competitor, but vertically, the acquired firm is a complementary entity. In the instance of a horizontal M&A transaction, a hotel chain might acquire a competitor to enlarge business or grow operations in new markets, be they different countries or a higher or lower-end of the business. In a vertical M&A transaction, the hotel chain might purchase a food services group to bring more of the hotel’s daily operations in-house. The M&A as a distinct transaction differs from the bread and butter type of private equity transaction where firms are first acquired and later exited rather than incorporated as part of a firm’s main business lines.
What then do the longer partnerships between private equity players and firms indicate? There are several speculative guesses, including the disparity in vision which could entangle maneuvering by management, making a firm reluctant to realize an exit. Another possibility is the poor exit environment, while still another is the possibility that private equity funds backed by institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are bound to the wishes of these LPs and blurring the pure business thought of profit and yielding to the ‘what’s best’ scenario for firms under management.

Trade sales
Some private equity exits have come in the form of the trade sale. This type of exit is viable for the region’s numerous family-owned firms, who would like to retain control after beefing-up the best practices instilled by a private equity firm. In June, 2008 the Foursan Group exited the Abdali District in Jordan to new investors via a trade sale, while Abraaj Capital exited both EFG-Hermes and the Maktoob Group via this route in 2007. Additionally, Injazat Capital exited its stake in Atos Origin Middle East, through a trade sale exit for the GCC-based technology firm.

Secondaries
The secondary market has given a new dimension to the private equity business. It is heralded as a way to unload a firm to another private equity player and will doubtlessly be used while more traditional exits like the initial public offering (IPO) route remain weak. The largest secondary transaction was Citadel Capital’s exit of Egyptian Fertilizers Company in June 2007 and while others have not been reported as secondary sales, the private equity to private equity nature of an investment is one way of gauging the exit type.

Strategic sales
The strategic sale of a firm to a related firm covering the same or similar industries is another possibility for MENA firms and might be the destination of most unreported or disguised exits. In June, the Foursan Group exited Arab Orient Insurance Co., a Jordanian insurance provider, to Fairfax Holdings, an insurance group looking to beef up the scope of its services.
Fairfax Holdings is a Western firm that acquired Arab Orient Insurance Co. for one possible reason: to expand Fairfax Holdings reach into a new market in the MENA region. With an ever growing population consuming ever more goods, firms servicing large markets with great potential will attract the likes of more Western firms looking to establish an arm in the region.

IPOs
The most traditional of exit options for private equity firms — the IPO — has not be used by firms reticent to face the valuation of a firm in the open market. According to Private Equity International’s survey, 33% believe that valuation and control are the greatest threats to the growth and development of the private equity industry in the Middle East while 25% believe it is non-initial public offering exits. In 2007, securities markets in the MENA region mimicked the situation globally and reported fewer groups in 2007 than year to 2006, when the turmoil on capital markets began. Although Q1 2008 performance remained poor, the situation as a whole for 2008 remains positive. For instance, the Saudi Arabian stock exchange has grown from a low in July 2007 to remain up over 25%. Regional bourses have followed similar trends.
However, a less sanguine conclusion is drawn vis- à-vis regional inflation rates, which can deteriorate investments and the value of companies choosing to list restructured operations now. In an approximated situation where capital market indices are achieving 20% annual growth in capitalization figures, double digit inflation can prick the balloon of optimism.

Large time horizons
With private equity firms tabling the immediate or traditional exit, the business is taking on longer time horizons for investments. The asset class’ main driver in the MENA region is currently infrastructure, which, by the nature of the industry, involves longer holding periods between investment and exit.
Initially evoked to describe pipes, roads, and ports, the term ‘infrastructure’ has come to include a myriad of sub-industries, including downstream industries and suppliers as well as networks involved in social infrastructure, namely the hospitals and schools being built to care for the populations of new cities and the growth dynamics associated with large Arab families.
Tertiary educational institutions, from new universities to research centers, are additionally accommodating the jobs to be demanded when the under-18-year-olds turn of age. For 51% of those surveyed by Private Equity International, infrastructure will attract the most investment interest in the next twelve months, followed by energy in a distant second at 20%. The two industries involve longer time horizons owing to the scale of deals as well as the timeline to realize results.
Private equity fits into the equation by its ability to recapitalize the infrastructure industry. Statistics have accounted for infrastructure projects comprising over 60% of new funds raised by regional private equity firms. New funds are sprouting up to bolster the demand. Al Khayyat, Rasmala, and RHT recently acquired a 13% stake of Taaleem, an educational specialist, which increased Al Khayyat’s stake in the firm to 25%. Taaleem is not the only education firm seeking or gaining capital to finance growth plans. Online educational resources, private educational institutions, books, and universities have all benefited from seeking out private equity growth capital, especially as many are battling for regional supremacy, moving beyond conquering just Riyadh and Jeddah to include operations in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City, and Manama.
With longer holding periods and new industries in which private equity players are investing, the asset class has taken on a flavor distinct to the region. Two reasons come in play to understand this dynamic. The first includes the aforementioned style of partnership in the region, with LPs consisting of SWFs in addition to individual fund backers. Sovereign wealth does not expect the same returns on investment and deals can be political to an extent in that GCC SWFs partner with MENA-centric private equity houses to strengthen the business climate in the region. An additional factor less thought of is the need for strong financial services houses. Because private equity is the quintessentially efficient type of investment, the savoir faire of industry experts is useful in structuring the longer-term outlook of firms involved in infrastructure or energy.

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Network cooperation between telecom competitors

by Bahjat el-Darwiche & Louay Abou Chanab
written by Bahjat el-Darwiche & Louay Abou Chanab

Most recently, two fierce Italian telecom competitors with pending legal and regulatory claims resolved their differences and decided to share infrastructure. They are now jointly planning the rollout of their Next Generation Networks and they adopted a cooperation model open to all interested operators. This shift is a direct result of the need to focus on commercial offering and the drive to commoditize telecom networks.

This trend is growing in both developed and developing markets. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region today, telecom networks are almost in every corner around us, yet the number of telecom operators is set to grow further. Policy makers and regulators understand the positive impact a balanced number of operators can have on competition and consequently on the economy as a whole. This raises a number of questions to answer: are investors still interested to fund more networks? Will those networks be profitable? And are there still enough available locations to deploy those networks without congestion risks?
Developed markets and recently developing markets have reached the conclusion that sharing telecom infrastructure can yield positive outcomes if managed properly. It mainly helps achieve the following:

1. Rationalized investments
It is not a hidden secret that building telecom networks is a costly activity. “Investment studies conducted during the early 3G hype in Europe put the average investment per 3G subscriber at around $500,” noted Bahjat El-Darwiche, a principal in the communication and technology practice with Booz & Company. “Sharing the cost to the 3G infrastructure buildup can generate savings of up to 40%,” he added. Sharing infrastructure can save critical investments thus significantly improving the profitability of the concerned operators

2. Develop new revenues
For incumbent operators in markets under liberalization, offering network components to competitors can generate new sources of revenues that would offset any potential losses from retail competition. “Sharing infrastructure can exceed 15% of an incumbent operator’s total revenues,” said Louay Abou Chanab, a senior associate in the communication and technology practice with Booz & Company.

3. Release capital
Competing operators, incumbents or new entrants are looking to diversify their revenue base and hence invest in different ventures locally or abroad. Sharing infrastructure allows all market players to release badly needed capital to invest in strategic ventures. In the case of India, $4 billion can be saved by 2010 if at least two operators share the needed 240,000 towers to improve coverage. The Indian government is even subsidizing towers should three or more operators decide to share it.

4. Improve competition
Infrastructure sharing has a dual impact on competition. On the one side it decreases entry barriers for new operators. Interested players will find it more appealing to enter that specific market given the ease with which they can start offering commercial services. From another perspective, operators now have less pressure to deploy networks and hence can shift their focus to innovation and better customer service. Both factors positively impact competition to the benefit of end-users.

5. Optimize use of scarce resources
Policy makers and regulators struggle with allocating frequencies to new entrants; municipalities also struggle with rights of way to allow the deployment of fixed networks. “Infrastructure sharing can alleviate some of the pressure we now have on allocating scarce resources to multiple operators,” said El-Darwiche. This optimization also serves to reduce the negative impact telecom networks may have on the environment.
A wide variety of infrastructure sharing forms can be leveraged by operators, policy makers and regulators. Sharing can focus on passive or active components of the network. For clarity, passive components are those that do not carry any electronic signals and can include mobile towers, ducts and even electric supply; active components on the other hand carry electronic signals and can include leased lines, switches and antennas.
In recent times, many innovative network sharing solutions have been implemented on both fixed and mobile sides. Stokab for instance, owned by the city of Stockholm, is building and operating a fiber-optic network in the city of Stockholm that is open to all service providers on equal terms. Stokab started in 1994 and now has coverage in over 27 municipalities in Sweden and is selling access to over 60 operators including the incumbent.
On the mobile side, a good example is one where Orange and Vodafone both agreed to share their respective networks in the UK and Spain. While each operator will still manage his own traffic independently, the UK sharing agreement will reduce capital and operating costs by up to 30% and in Spain it will reduce number of sites by around 40%.
Yet, the success of infrastructure sharing highly depends on key success factors. At a minimum, regulators should consider publishing certain safeguards as is the case in Jordan and Nigeria. Both countries have detailed certain behavior on the use of capacity, namely that it should be used on a first come first served basis and that any unused capacity should be returned.
Regulators should also consider pricing regulations for certain forms of infrastructure sharing like unbundling or site sharing; ideally, prices should be cost-based. What regulators should also aim to achieve is proper enforcement of the policy. It is foreseen that disputes will arise when sharing infrastructure. Regulators need to be ready to introduce regulatory compliance measures or intervene to resolve disputes.
In summary, it is important to seize the opportunity presenting itself today in the MENA region. While we have some successful examples, like in the case of Morocco where unbundling grew the broadband market by over 19% within six months, we need to maintain the momentum going forward. An incentive-based regulatory regime might significantly contribute to developing regional telecom markets and, in turn, the overall economy while rationalizing investments.

Bahjat El-Darwiche is a principal and LOUAY ABOU CHANAB is a senior associate in the communication and technology practice at Booz & Company

 

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Banking & Finance

The fallacy of projections

by Imad Ghandour
written by Imad Ghandour

In September 2006, the IMF in its Global Economic Output report projected that the US will be “the engine of global economic growth despite some uncertainty in the housing sector.” In its July 2008 report, less than two years later, the IMF revised downward (again) its projections for US economic growth to 1.3% (from 3.2% and 2.2% in the previous two semi-annual reports). The world’s most sophisticated economic forecaster failed to project the size and impact of one of the most serious financial crises in our modern history on the most monitored economy, although that event was on the radar screen for two years.

Recently I spent a few hours with a colleague of mine trying to “fit” the actual financial results of a company we had invested in into the model we had built for that company prior to that investment. The bottom-line projections were close to the actual results, yet we couldn’t put the right parameters in the model that will get us even close to reality.
It was an intellectual exercise, but at the end I had to pause and think: if a model cannot predict the past, how on earth were we confident that it could predict the future?
Make no mistake, this is a universal problem and is not a result of any individual incompetency.
Thousands of financial analysts pour their energy into predicting the “fair” value of stocks and other financial assets. They calculate with pinpoint accuracy the price of the stock after going through the mundane task of calculating things like future revenues, overheads, profits, discount rates, betas, comps, etc. Yet, with all the sophisticated modeling, I have rarely seen a numerical analysis explaining or predicting the “actual” market price of a stock. Furthermore, research has shown that actual prices do not necessarily gravitate towards “fair” prices, as the theory behind all this analysis suggests. In other words, the thousands of “fair” value models published by investment banks invariably fail to predict the present (or the past) and are unlikely to predict the future.
Yet we rely on projections to give us confidence in our decision. No investment is done in the modern financial world without a model. No model is without future projections. We project profits in 2015 to be $56,405,383.34, yet the only fact we can be sure of is that they will not be this number. We base our decisions on such numbers, and we focus our attention on things like the IRR as the analytical summary of thousands of assumptions and projections. We may reject an investment because the model calculated an IRR of 29%, while we all know that the same model with a little bit of subjective tweaking and twisting may give a magical boost to the IRR to, say, 39%.
Prior to inventing Lotus 123 and its successor MS Excel (and before I was born), investors relied on qualitative assessment and simple calculation to make their investment decisions. Did they take wrong decisions? Does a 1000 line model give an edge over such “unsophisticated” investors?
In his inspiring bestseller The Black Swan, Naseem Taleb skillfully argues that we simply cannot predict the future because “significant yet improbable events” (he called them “black swan events”) are the ones that will shape the future of individuals, countries, companies, and economies. We simply cannot predict or time or imagine such events, and we definitely cannot project their impact (hence the IMF miscalculation).
Projections are useful to the extent they are used as an analytical tool for possible future options. They may bring illusionary confidence, but reality will surely be different, especially in private equity investments that span several years. Embracing this fact as we price, negotiate, structure, and manage any investment is the key to sustained successful investment.

Imad Ghandour is the chairman of Information & Statistics Committee—Gulf Venture Capital Association

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Capitalist Culture

Rule of law – Deferred judgement

by Michael Young
written by Michael Young

It was an enlightening coincidence that the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic, was arrested and sent to The Hague shortly before Russia dispatched its army into Georgia. Where the first event suggested some kind of imposed benchmark of international justice and behavior was possible, the second made it clear we shouldn’t go too far in our expectations.

The Georgian conflict has long been a complicated one, and Russia is no guiltier than other countries, such as the United States, in respecting international law only when it favors its interests. But in the hours after its invasion of Georgia, it was telling that Russia sought to cobble together a legal case accusing the Georgians of war crimes in South Ossetia — rather rank hypocrisy given that Russia’s army targeted civilian areas in Georgia, but Moscow apparently felt the need to offer a legal cover for its actions before the international community. Effectively the Russians twisted themselves into a pretzel to make it seem that they adhered to international legal and human rights norms.
So while the world may be a long way away from an effective and comprehensive system of international justice, Karadzic’s arrest, however, showed that once institutions are actually set up to affirm the rule of law, to circumvent these and their implications can be difficult.
The Hariri tribunal, which is currently being established in The Hague as well, is a case in point. Much has been written of late suggesting that the tribunal is dead, that its prosecutor has no case, that the system of international justice has been shown to be weak in the face of the political interests of individual states. That may well be true in some regards. The former United Nations investigator, Serge Brammertz, who just so happens to be Karadzic’s prosecutor today, clearly did not progress in his investigation as rapidly as he could have, earning him the biting criticism of his predecessor, the German judge Detlev Mehlis.
However, the pessimism may also have to be qualified. The international community and the UN may behave in the most cumbersome ways, but once they go to the trouble of setting up something like the Hariri tribunal, they usually have to give it some meat and meaning, or risk considerable embarrassment and antagonism. That’s why the Hariri tribunal — despite all the doubts surrounding it and the need to lower expectations in terms of who will be directly accused — is nonetheless likely to function and create far more waves than anyone expects. Once the tribunal opens up one sensitive door, it will likely be very difficult to control what comes afterward, and what other doors are opened.
In many respects that is a lesson about the possibilities of international justice, one pillar of a capitalist culture that seeks the amelioration of human freedom in the context of open minds and open markets. Justice doesn’t usually end up working because states or politicians want to improve the world (even if that motive can exist for a time), but because states sooner or later have a selfish interest in accepting justice.
That was certainly why Karadzic was handed over to the tribunal responsible for the former Yugoslavia. With Serbia looking to enter Europe, and the fact that the continued freedom of Karadzic and his collaborator Ratko Mladic presented a major obstacle to this, the Serbia government apparently weighed the costs and benefits of allowing the two men to be protected by certain power centers in Serbia. The conclusion was that protection wasn’t worth it, at least in Karadzic’s case.
That situation does not exist in Lebanon, or at least not yet. If anything, some might argue, the Syrian- Lebanese rapprochement effected in August may make any future blame directed against Damascus by the tribunal problematic for Lebanese interests, since relations between Lebanon and Syria might suffer. In other words Lebanon may have no advantage in seeing the Hariri tribunal go through. Perhaps, or perhaps the precise opposite may be true: If Syria was involved in Hariri’s elimination, as many believe, than what kind of interest can Lebanon have in pursuing a relationship with a regime that murdered a former prime minister? And if Syria is innocent, then it has nothing to fear from the tribunal.
Whichever answer ends up being the correct one, the superficial assumption that “justice always prevails” should be discarded. The point of international justice is not that it is invariably satisfied, but that its burdensome imperatives, even when imperfectly applied, often end up shaping states’ foreign behavior. And that opens up spaces forcing states to sometimes go along with an international consensus, even if they don’t care to do so. There is no certainty here, no guarantees, not even a chance to predict that norms of justice will gradually spread over time to encompass most states. Only the ability to say that some norms of justice are more likely to be applied today than previously.
It’s not much perhaps, but it’s no little thing either.

Michael Young

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Comment

The burden of luxury and the joy of taxes

by Zafiris Tzannatos
written by Zafiris Tzannatos

The July 2008 issue of this magazine was dedicated to “Luxury Economics,” focusing on the “Middle East’s appetite for surprising, exotic and authentic experiences.” A separate article in the same issue did not fail to note the move in the UAE to introduce a value added tax. Does luxury increase “happiness”? And does taxation decrease it? Paradoxically, the answer to both is “no” according to some new views. In a nutshell, luxury, once tried, becomes necessity and taxes can reduce materialism — a common theme in many religions — and help citizens preserve a healthy work/life balance. Let us examine each assertion in turn.
Historically, economists have related well-being to the level of incomes while development theories typically stress economic growth as the ultimate objective. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GGC) economies score well on both counts. The recent hike in the international price of oil has been associated with high government revenues and a corresponding fast rate of economic growth. And citizens have not only enjoyed traditionally high levels of incomes but, under popular pressure, recently managed to get unprecedented salary increases for reasons unrelated to their work effort and productivity.
However, it has been found that once wealth reaches a subsistence level, its effectiveness as a generator of well-being is greatly diminished — as if a “hedonic treadmill” were in operation: you keep moving just to stay in the same place. In other words, aspirations increase along with income and, after basic needs are met, relative rather than absolute levels of income influence well-being (“happiness”). If this is to be accepted, distributing the oil revenues across the population in some uncritical or untargeted way may have only a temporary effect on “happiness.”
The emerging theory of “happiness economics” aims to understand what determines the well-being of people. The theory has consequences for understanding happiness both as an individual as well as a societal goal. “Happiness economists” aim to change the way governments view well-being and how to allocate resources. And a new concept has been developed, the GNH (Gross National Happiness) that is broader than the conventional GNP (Gross National Product) or GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
If income alone is a poor approximation for happiness, what should economists take into consideration? The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. What should one then look out for?
First, social comparisons. Happiness is derived from relative income as well as from absolute income. If everyone gains purchasing power, some may still turn out unhappier, if their position compared to others becomes relatively worse — as the case is with recent universal handouts given by the GCC governments. This effect does not necessarily turn economic growth into a zero sum game entirely, but it can diminish the way people perceive the benefits of their own hard work.
Second, adaptation. As people get used to higher income levels, their idea of a sufficient income grows with their income. In this case, if people fail to anticipate that effect, they will feel they work more than is good for their happiness.
Third, changing tastes. Individual preferences are not constant. They are increasingly mutable, shifting constantly according to the latest fashion, adapting cultural norms and what neighbors do. In turn, the perceived values of one’s accumulated possessions are subject to depreciation, ultimately having a negative effect on happiness.
All these considerations make sense. Humans adapt, often rapidly, to their current situation. They become habituated to the good or the bad. They are sensitive to the status they have relative to what they perceive others enjoy. More generally, despite the fact that external forces are constantly changing one’s life goals, happiness for most people is a relatively constant state. Regardless of how good things get, people report about the same level of happiness over time.
This has led some economists to argue that taxes can serve another purpose besides paying for public services (usually for public goods) and redistributing income (usually to the poorer citizens). This additional purpose of taxes is to counteract the cognitive bias that causes people to work more than is good for their happiness. That is, taxes could help citizens preserve a healthy work/life balance.
In short, money does not add much to happiness: Lottery winners are an example as, within a year, they are said to return to their former happiness level. And those handicapped in, say, a motor vehicle accident, usually return to former happiness levels, despite their loss of function. Some studies have suggested that a sense of “higher calling” or “purpose” can add to someone’s happiness. If so, perhaps the development of a national vision and the introduction of taxes in the GCC countries may cause the citizens to look outside themselves and become happier — even though they may consume fewer luxury goods.

Professor Zafiris Tzannatos is Advisor to the World Bank and former chair of the Economics Department at the American University of Beirut. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent those of the World Bank.

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Lebanon

Politics – The guillotine for Paris III?

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

Afew months ago, a Lebanese politician from the parliamentary minority hinted at the possibility of cancelling the Paris III agreements of January 2007, during which some $7.6 billion destined to support major reforms in the Lebanese economy were pledged by the international community. But can the Paris III process really be reversed? And if so, what would be the consequences?

Nassib Ghobril, head economist at Byblos Bank, is of the opinion that, “the objections of certain political factions to Paris III that were recently reported in the press about the possibility of canceling Paris III can be put in the framework of political haggling. This particular statement was made during the negotiations dovetailing the ministerial declaration. They appear to be only political motivated and are thus far from being a realistic proposal.”
During the past two years, the overall implementation of Paris III, including privatization of key sectors, among them Electricité du Liban (Lebanon’s electricity company), the telecom sector and the Casino Du Liban, has been delayed, mainly because of security problems (a war, a one-year blockade, and a few skirmishes) and political dissensions that culminated in the total paralysis of political life with the cabinet’s work severely impaired by the total closing of the parliament, making it impossible to legislate and implement any new reforms for more than a year.

Paris or no Paris?
“These reforms, which are at the heart of Paris III, can only be implemented by a functioning parliament and cabinet,” said Ghobril, which means that in the absence of political consensus, the full implementation of Paris III might be postponed indefinitely.
The economist underlined, however, that the actual cancellation of Paris III is impossible as the agreement made in Paris in 2006 is backed by contracts signed by Lebanon and international governments and institutions, some of which have disbursed part of the funds.
Louis Hobeika, a professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), tends to agree with Ghobril. He added, however, that although the Paris III agreement cannot be cancelled it may be modified or adapted to the new economic reality. “The scenario submitted to donors during the Paris III conference was certainly too optimistic when it came to certain aspects of the economy such as inflation, economic growth and government expenditures,” Hobeika explained. The AUB economist underlined that Lebanon’s needs in aid have also grown significantly since the deterioration of the economic situation in the last few years.
“One of the purposes of the Paris III conference was to allow the government to reduce its public debt, which since 2006 has increased significantly by $6 to $7 billion. Forecasts should therefore be modified accordingly,” Hobeika said. A recent Lebanon This Week report put the Lebanese public debt at $44.4 billion in June 2008, up from $40.37 billion in December 2006.
Hobeika explained that he was initially opposed to holding Paris III at the time for several reasons. The scenario put in place was overly confident and optimistic, forecasts were inaccurate and the local political context unfavorable. “Supporters of the Paris III conference argued at the time that it was imperative it should be held before French president Jacques Chirac, known for his personal relations with the Lebanese government, stepped down. The government could have asked for Arab funding and postponed the Paris III conference until the situation improved, without committing itself to unrealistic objectives which has reflected negatively on Lebanon’s image,” he argued. None- theless, he underlined that once a government committed itself to an economic program in coordination with international countries and institutions, its decisions can in no way be recanted by subsequent governments that come to power.
In addition to the impossibility of breaking international agreements, Ghobril pointed to the fact that many sections of the Paris III agreement have actually been implemented with disbursement of funds. According to the economist, some $4.5 billion have been committed by international donors, amounting to 63% of the total funds pledged during Paris III.
The Byblos Bank report highlights the different amounts pledged: while budget support agreements totaled $1.86 billion, equivalent to 39.4% of total signed agreements by the end of June 2008, private sector support amounted to $1.27 billion (26.9%) and project finance support to $1.03 billion (21.8%). “Project finance has witnessed the lowest disbursements as it requires parliamentary approval, while Central Bank support has been fully disbursed,” emphasizes Ghobril.

Able to swim without aid
Although the donors’ lifeline seems essential to Lebanon, it does not account for the country’s survival, which can be essentially attributed to its resilient economy. Hobeika believes that foreign aid bestowed on Lebanon will not insure the country’s resistance to economic shocks while implementing reforms related to budget deficit and the establishment of proper structure could.
Ghobril agreed, stating that, “Lebanon has been able to survive through extremely adverse conditions and repeatedly proven its economic buoyancy. Compared to other countries such as Jordan, which would suffer tremendously from foreign aid drying up, Lebanon relies on much smaller amounts of foreign aid.”
Putting forth indicators of Lebanon’s economic resilience, Ghobril discussed the recent relatively easy renewal of the treasury bonds that matured this year, in spite of the unstable Lebanese situation. “Byblos Bank jointly with BLOM manages a 500 million Eurobond that was recently twice over subscribed due to large demand. This proves that that Lebanon does not essentially rely on donors’ aid and foreign investors,” he said.
Lebanese investors are also dedicated to their banking sector and have proven numerous times that they will not exit the market at the first shock, as it has been the case in some countries in South America. In addition to the Lebanese state never having defaulted, the Lebanese banking system has proven repeatedly its ability to face one crisis after another.

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Lebanon

Development – Raising a new bourj

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

Beirut seems in a building frenzy, and Bourj Hammoud, a suburb east of the city on the other side of the Beirut River, is no exception. Parallel to the highway in an area known as Sandjak, the municipality is to construct three residential-commercial towers, a multi-story parking and a public garden. The project has generally been well received as a sound attempt to upgrade the area and improve access to Bourj Hammoud. The remaining inhabitants however, await eviction and an uncertain future. They complain that the compensation by the municipality is not sufficient.

With an estimated cost of $20 million, the Sandjak project is an initiative from the municipality, which is quite a rarity in Lebanon. The local authorities bought the land from its Lebanese owners for some $2 million and are currently in the process of securing loans. The two-and- three-room apartments of up to 120 square meters, however, will not be available for just anyone.
“Bourj Hammoud is saturated,” said Raffi Kok Oghlanian, project manager at Sayfco Holding and deputy mayor of Bourj Hammoud. “A lot of young people are leaving. One of the goals of this project is to offer affordable housing to the newly-wed and young people born in Bourj Hammoud.”
When completed, the project is to significantly change the face of Bourj Hammoud, offering direct access from the highway, as well as ample parking facilities. This to great relief for Bourj Hammoud’s thousands of shopkeepers, as the area today is only accessible from two narrow entry points and suffers from endless traffic jams and a chronic lack of parking.
As always, however, progress comes at a price. While half of the Sandjak area has already been demolished, the other half is still standing, yet awaits a similar fate. The some 100 families still living there await a notification to leave, which is likely to arrive between 6 and 12 months from now. “I was born here 43 years ago,” said the owner of a small supermarket. “I now live in Antelias, but my parents are still here. Where can they go? The municipality gave us $13,000. The house next to us got $5,000. What can you do with that? ”

The good of the many
Oghlanian said he understands people’s grievances, yet added that the problem of a few cannot stand in the way of a project that benefits the whole community. What’s more, according to him, the municipality has done everything to soften the suffering of current and former inhabitants. “We asked the Lebanese court to look into the dossier and formulate a recommendation regarding compensation, according to which we paid everyone up to $15,000,” he said.
To understand the specific difficulties related to the Sandjak Project, within the wider context of urban development in densely populated Bourj Hammoud, it is necessary to have a brief look at the area’s history. Situated on the eastern bank of the now nearly waterless Beirut River, Bourj Hammoud is one of Beirut’s most distinctive areas, for several reasons.
Although having become more and more mixed in recent years, the quarter is still predominantly Armenian. The area was only developed from the 1920s onward when survivors of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1918) arrived in Beirut. Until then, it had been an area of fields and agricultural land dotted with farms. In fact, Bourj Hammoud is named after the only two-storey house that existed at the time, which happened to be owned by the Hammoud family.
The first development centered around four clusters: Marash, Cis, Adana and Sarkis. Apart from the latter, they were named after cities in what is today eastern Turkey, yet what Armenians refer to as “historical Armenia.” Gradually, as wood made way for concrete, the former refugee camp became an integral part of the Lebanese capital. In fact, with some 150,000 inhabitants cramped together on an area of some 2.4 square kilometers, Bourj Hammoud ranks among the most densely populated areas in Lebanon and the region.
Bourj Hammoud has also become one of Greater Beirut’s most popular shopping districts. The area offers a true high street, mainly catering for a middle class clientele. In addition, it is famous for its many jewelers, watch makers and goldsmiths. Finally, it is quite an industrious area as well. Inside the labyrinth of little alleyways, there are hundreds of textile, shoe and metal workshops, while heavier industry is located on the seashore.
“The first urban development in Bourj Hammoud took place on land donated to the Armenian community,” Oghlanian explained. “The land was divided in smaller plots, on which people constructed their homes. Later on, the municipality bought land and allowed people to construct their homes. They own their homes, yet can only sell with permission of the municipality. The third form of urban development was technically illegal. People constructed their home on land that was not theirs. Such was predominantly the case in Sandjak.”
One should know that Sandjak was not just any area within Bourj Hammoud. It had a bad reputation. “Even the police would not dare go inside,” one shopkeeper said. Others claimed it was a hotbed for criminality. Yet, despite the occasional “mafia” graffiti on some of the walls still standing in Sandjak, one hardly feels unsafe when walking around. Regardless of its reputation being true or not, the fact is that Sandjak was one of the quarter’s poorest areas.

Local demographics
“There were essentially three groups of people living in Sandjak,” Oghlanian explained. “First of all, there were a number of foreign workers who in recent years had rented rooms. Second, there were people who had been renting from the original Armenian owners for a very long time. And third, there were the people who constructed the houses and still lived there.”
The first group was given notice to leave and look for alternative lodging. The second group was paid between $2,000 and $5,000, while the third group received between $5,000 and $15,000. That may not seem a lot, and has to do with the fact that most of the dwellings were constructed illegally in the first place.
“The Lebanese owners of the land were more than happy to sell, as it was quite impossible for them to remove the inhabitants,” Oghlanian explained. “Now, we could have gone to court and just thrown them off the land. However, that would be rather inhumane and cause a major upset within the community. Hence, we asked the Lebanese court for a recommendation and paid compensation.”
The Sandjak project is part of a wider initiative by the municipality to upgrade Bourj Hammoud. “The government has long considered Bourj Hammoud as the backyard of the capital,” said Oghlanian. “Every time it planned a sewage treatment plant or factory, Bourj Hammoud was proposed. We, as a municipality, have worked very hard to change that perception. Bourj Hammud is a not only a residential, but also a very productive commercial and industrial area.”
Over the past decade, the face of Bourj Hammoud has indeed changed. The municipality invested significantly in a beautification campaign. Streets and pavements were widened, trees planted, public lightning improved and building facades were cleaned and painted. By law, building owners are obliged to take care of the façade, but the municipality decided to exercise that right instead — all in all, some $10 million was spent.
In addition, with financial aid of the central government the area’s infrastructure was improved, notably the sewage system — which often was not able to absorb severe rains — was upgraded for $7 million. Where 10 years ago streets would flood after a heavy shower, today everything stays dry.
As Bourj Hammoud offers relatively little room for expansion, the Sandjak Project has the potential to significantly alter the area, as well as one of Beirut’s main access roads. Construction is expected to start within a year and could be completed by 2010. The compensation paid to Sandjak’s inhabitants and their future, however, is not the municipality’s only worry.
According to Oghlanian, the municipality calculated that the project is to cost some $20 million. But seeing the rapidly rising costs of construction materials such as steel and concrete, the price could increase significantly. In that sense, it seems construction should start sooner rather than later, at least seen from the municipality’s point of view, though the remaining inhabitants of Sandjak no doubt have a different opinion.

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