2017 Corruption Index: Lebanon Still Corrupt AF

The 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Lebanon at the 143rd spot out of 180 countries and 14th out of 20 countries in Middle East and North Africa. The report did state that Lebanon is taking small yet positive steps towards fighting corruption and increasing transparency and integrity, like the passage of the Access to Information Law, Lebanon joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the ratification of the national budget for the first time since…

Should Lebanese Banks Close on Saturdays?

Lebanon's official weekend holidays is still proving to be a hot topic in the country, as Lebanese banks may decide to close this coming Saturday and all Saturdays from now on. Previously, Fridays and Saturdays were half-working days but with the new schedule, Friday is a full-working day and Saturdays are off. It would only make sense for banks to close on Saturdays but I think they should keep certain branches open for simple operators…
Business

#Lebanon Still Has Third Highest Debt-to-GDP Ratio in the World

6 years ago
Debt is not necessarily a bad thing when governments borrow to fund spending on infrastructure or hospitals and schools, which is clearly not happening in Lebanon. Still though, we have an increasing debt-to-GDP ratio at ...
Business

[Updated] Can McKinsey Help Revive Lebanon’s Economy?

6 years ago
Update 10/07/2018: Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has set out its vision for Lebanon’s economy, with recommendations ranging from building a wealth-management and investment-banking hub to becoming a provider of medicinal cannabis. Turning it ...
Business

Holidays Tourists Spending Down by 30% in 2017, NYE Parties Booking Ratio Up to 80%

6 years ago
The Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs & Pastries in Lebanon stated a week ago that spending during the holidays has dropped by 30 to 40% this year when compared to last year. He ...
Business

VAT is Officially 11% Now in #Lebanon

6 years ago
The increase in VAT from 10 too 11% officials went into effect yesterday on Jan 1st 2018. The 1% increase is expected to lead to a 5 to 7% increase in the prices of goods, ...
Business

Lebanon’s Central Bank Prohibits The Use of Bitcoin

6 years ago
A friend posted yesterday about BDL’s ban of bitcoin in Lebanon so I remembered an old draft I had not published yet about that matter. One month ago, during the 7th CSR Lebanon Forum, Central ...
Business

Beirut Ranked 101st Most Stressful City in the World

6 years ago
An online website (Zipjet) ranked the least and most stressful cities in the world using various factors such as green spaces, public transport, mental health, noise pollution, sunshine hours, air pollution, traffic and race equality. ...
Baladi

12 Lebanese Women in Forbes’ Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen 2017 List

6 years ago
The 2017 Forbes list of the 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen is out and 12 Lebanese women made the list. Forbes collects information from annual reports and company websites and look at criteria such as ...
Business

Le Charcutier Aoun is not Selling and will Remain 100% Lebanese

6 years ago
For the past three years, I’ve been hearing rumors about Charcutier Aoun selling out to Al Futtaim but the deal never took place. Negotiations were apparently serious this year but the deal was cancelled and ...
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