Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2023 i Lebanon Opportunities

Admittedly, it takes a lot of daring to announce the beginning of reversal in the fortunes of the private sector. It will no doubt be faced with denial, skepticism, and even mockery. In this issue we undertake the challenge. We highlight the bright corners of an otherwise still desolate situation. Hundreds of businesses have started, branched out, or reopened after closure at the beginning of the crisis or as a result of the Port Explosion. Manufacturers are selling more locally and abroad. Salaries in the private sector have become respectable again — even if still below the pre-crisis levels. Local talents are being outsourced from abroad. Dare we say more? Daring in the dark It takes a lot of daring to face the understandably and starkly negative general mood in…

Provided by Green electricity made available to consumers The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) has begun receiving applications from producers of renewable energy to register their power generation farms in order that LCEC issues international renewable energy certificates (I-RECs) on their behalf. An I-REC is an Energy Attribute Certificate (EAC) that represents the environmental attributes for generating one megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity. I-RECs will be sold to consumers of electricity who prefer to use renewable energy. Since the electricity injected into the national grid comes from different kinds of power generation facilities and consumers cannot know the source of the actual electricity they are using, the I-REC system connects them indirectly to producers of renewable energy. The I-REC system is expected to expand the market for renewables and…

Beirut, May 2023 - Sagesse Sports Club - Beirut has signed a three-season advertising contract with “Promomedia” part of “JGroup Holding”, the leading Out-of-Home advertising company across the Levant and Africa. Under the agreement, Promomedia will market the club’s activities and matches in football and basketball, as well as advertisements within Antoine Choueiri Stadium – Ghazir. President Elie Yahchouchi, signed the contract on behalf of Sagesse Club, with Vice President Attorney Kamil Saadeh, Secretary Elie Nassar, Head of Marketing Committee Jihad Saba, and Media Advisor Bashara Khairallah in attendance. Patrick Haber, Vice President of JGroup and General Manager of PromoMedia, signed on behalf of the company, with Joseph Sfeir from the group and the company also present. The aim of the agreement is to secure the necessary marketing for the…

Change in leadership at Notre Dame des Secours Hospital Father Wissam Khoury has been nominated as Chairman of the Board of Notre Dame des Secours University Hospital (CHU-NDS) – known as Maaounat, in Byblos. He was previously the hospital’s General Manager. Khoury said they started implementing a recovery plan for the hospital that is yielding positive results. This includes a governance scheme and committees for audit and financial issues, investment, fundraising, and remuneration and compensation. New board members have been appointed, mainly businesspeople from the Diaspora. They are seeking to build partnerships with hospitals abroad to keep abreast of new advances in healthcare and to adopt the latest standards and norms. These partnerships allow doctors and nurses to benefit from training abroad, and patients from treatment in international hospitals. CHU-NDS is…

InfoPro, the publisher of Lebanon Opportunities and other print and online media, has launched ‘LebanonRevival.News’, the only news website in Lebanon dedicated to socioeconomic development. The website is a go-to portal for information on aid and projects undertaken by international donors, international and local NGOs, and implementing agencies. The local footprint of these organizations has greatly expanded in the past three years, and represents now a sizeable share of the economy and employment. “Socioeconomic news and issues are not getting their fair share of coverage in traditional media, whether in print or online,” said the website’s publisher Ramzi El Hafez. “Filling the gap is a natural extension of InfoPro’s work, as much discussion has started around the work being done and money spent,” he said. Focus The website publishes news…

Food and Beverage Achrafieh Chérie Achrafieh Al Beiruti Downtown Beirut  Aria Aishti By The Sea, Antelias  Ast Jeita  Avanti Downtown Beirut Bakerloo Hamra Batchig City Center Beit Kanz Achrafieh Belbol Afandi Hazmieh Cali Burger Ain Saade / Jounieh Candyfornia Café Beirut Caruso Beirut Saifi Chatimelb ABC Verdun Chiyabani Hamra Chocolate Bar Beirut Hamra Classic Sandwich Jnah CLUSTER 001 Mar Mikhael Croissanji Choueifat  Croissant Saab Al-Malla, Beirut  Cupola Gemmayze Fire Bird Mar Mikhael Food Hub Centro Mall  Food Vaccine Roueiss Frunch Eatery Centro Mall Goodmen Gefinor Graffiti Street Food Salim Salam Highway Kalila Berytus Park Downton Beirut Lakkis Minet El Hosn  LEO La Terasse Downtown Beirut Lord of the Wings ABC Verdun Marzano Kaslik Mhanna Café Starco Downtown Beirut Neighbourhood Gemmayze OCD Hooka & Coffee Lounge Centro Mall Our Circle Saifi…

Soundbytes There are some who are pushing for a total collapse, so as to rebuild from scratchCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati We should get more serious with the IMFSaadeh Chami Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister The health system is still threatened, but resistant. The most vulnerable class’ access to health services is growingFiras Abiad Caretaker Minister of Public Health The eight remaining oil&gas blocks are ready for biddingWalid Fayad Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water China is still ready to invest more than $12 billion in LebanonHassan Nasrallah Secretary General of Hezbollah We shall return the depositors’ money, even if it takes a whileMohamed Raad Head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament We don’t export cucumbers and tomatoes. We export manpower. A single emigrant engineer sends to his family more than the…

Provided by $77 million industrial loans from Cedar Oxygen The Cedar Oxygen fund approved more than 60 loans to the industrial sector in 2022 boosting its lending portfolio over seven times in one year to above 70 loans, according Ibrahim Salibi, CEO of Cedar Oxygen-Lebanon. The size of a loan ranges from $200,000 to $10 million with an average value of $1.1 million. “We also have 25 loans in the pipeline. The reason for the growth in lending is that we have tailored our products to suit the needs of the market. We have made our conditions more acceptable to our customers and reviewed the interest rates we charge. We have also streamlined and simplified the process for obtaining a loan,” Salibi said. Over 70 percent of the loans aim…

Name Sirra Sal Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (300) Directors Sandra Toni Salameh (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) (298), Rami Aziz Torbey (01) Nabih-Claude Philippe Jabre (01) Reg. address Lot No. 5403 Ashrafieh, Beirut Object Online mental health app focused on parenting, couples and individuals, overviews a proactive mental health platform Bank Credit Libanais Solicitor Me Rami Aziz Torbey Auditor Carmen Albert Abou-Maroun Name Al-Beiruti Downtown Sal Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000) Directors Samer Mousbah Zayat (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) (980), Ovsep Ohannes Katergi (10) Christophe Joseph Aoun (10) Reg. address M1 Building, Omar Daouk Street, Beirut Central District, Lot No. 1363, Minet El-Hosn, Beirut Object General trade, management of restaurants, hotels, club and catering, services Bank BLOM Bank Solicitor Me Ragheb Georges Haddad Auditor Samer Samir Tawil Name Bev Leb Sal Capital (Shares) LL60,000,000 (1,000) Directors Jalal Salim Nakad (Chairman & Gen.…

Provided by Canada donates $26 million to WFP The government of Canada has granted the World Food Program (WFP) a donation of $26 million that will be allocated for cash assistance to vulnerable citizens via the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP). The assistance will be provided in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). The number of citizens that will benefit from cash assistance through the NPTP is 371,000 according to WFP. Each beneficiary will receive $20 per month for food and $25 per household for other needs. The payments will be made through e-cards redeemable at ATMs and shops. Canada has so far provided $33.65 million to the WFP for cash assistance through the NPTP. The NPTP is the first poverty targeting social assistance program that supports the…

The country is well equipped to supply six categories of services on the global outsourcing market, according to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Forward MENA that addresses the issue of the future of outsourcing and potential opportunities for emerging countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The short-term focus in Lebanon must be on customer relationship management (CRM) (including call centers), engineering design and consulting services, as well as business consulting and market research services. On the long term, the focus must be on the development of software programs and applications (apps) and similar services in addition to marketing services, and telemedicine and remote education services, said the ‘MENA Talent Map’ report. The report has identified 12 talent personas suitable for outsourcing. An…

Provided by QatarEnergy joins gas exploration consortium QatarEnergy has acquired a 30 percent stake in the three-way consortium to explore oil and gas in two maritime blocks off the coast of Lebanon. The other members are TotalEnergies and Eni, each with a 35 percent share. The Ministry of Energy and Water said it expects the launch of exploration activities to be brought forward from November. A first licensing round in 2017, covering Block 4 and Block 9, was awarded to this consortium which included at the time the Russian firm Novatek. Only one inconclusive drilling attempt was made in Block 4. No attempt was made in Block 9, which was halted due to a dispute around the maritime demarcation of the southern border. Novatek pulled out in September 2022, leaving…

Provided by Property sales drop in numbers and value Real estate sales contracts registered in the Land Registry and Cadaster decreased both in terms of number and value in 2022 compared with the previous year. Total value decreased 7.6 percent to $14.4 billion while the number of registered transactions dropped 27 percent to nearly 80,000. The most active periods in 2022 were the first quarter and from the beginning of summer through to November. The number of registered transactions had jumped by 63 percent in 2020 and 34 percent in 2021. The decrease in registration was mainly the result of the frequent closures of the Land Registry and Cadaster and the lack of power supply, said Namir Cortas, Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association (REDAL). Some of these closures…