Lebanon, which has $86bn (Dh316bn) of public debt as of the end of July, has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Photo: Alamy Stock
Lebanon, which has $86bn (Dh316bn) of public debt as of the end of July, has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Photo: Alamy Stock
Lebanon, which has $86bn (Dh316bn) of public debt as of the end of July, has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Photo: Alamy Stock
Lebanon, which has $86bn (Dh316bn) of public debt as of the end of July, has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Photo: Alamy Stock

UAE contributes 11% of Lebanon’s total FDI, diplomat says


Nada El Sawy
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE has maintained its position as a leading investor in Lebanon, contributing 11 per cent of total foreign direct investment to the indebted country, a top Emirati diplomat said.

The second UAE-Lebanon Investment Forum, sponsored by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, will take place in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will attend, along with several senior ministers and the governor of Lebanon's Central Bank. The first forum took place in December.

Mr Hariri will also meet a number of officials, including Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

“The coming joint investment forum is a realisation of the vision of the UAE’s leadership for joint Arab action, especially with Lebanon," Hamad Al Shamsi, the UAE ambassador to Lebanon, told state news agency Wam.

About 29 per cent of the total foreign direct investment inflows to Lebanon were from the Middle East, Mr Al Shamsi said.

FDI flows to Lebanon increased to nearly $2.9 billion (Dh10.65bn) last year from $2.5bn in 2017, according to the World Investment Report 2019 from the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

Lebanon has been put on notice for a possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service and protesting citizens have demanded banks remove curbs limiting foreign currency withdrawals.

The country, which has $86bn of public debt as of the end of July, has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios.

In a statement on Tuesday, the rating agency said it would put Lebanon’s Caa1 rating under review for a downgrade within three months.

Moody's said this was due to “the recent significant tightening in external financing conditions and the reversal in the bank deposit inflows that are essential in enabling Lebanon to meet the government’s financing needs”.

Private sector deposits at banks in Lebanon declined by $2.2bn, or 1.3 per cent, in the first seven months of the year.

Foreign investments in Lebanon are skewed towards real estate, hotels and tourism, which together accounted for 82 per cent of capital expenditure between 2003 and 2015, a 2018 background note for the Mena-OECD Economic Resilience Task Force said.

A large proportion of greenfield investment originates from GCC countries, with the UAE responsible for 50 per cent of the total, the note said.

“The UAE is also looking to expand investments to other areas, such as energy and free zones, because the UAE believes that Emirati investments in Lebanon will increase the confidence of investors from other countries to enter the Lebanese market, which will help Lebanon to overcome its current economic conditions,” Mr Al Shamsi said.

In the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $598m, of which exports from the UAE accounted for $343m and exports from Lebanon were valued at $255m, Mr Al Shamsi said.

Last year, trade between the two was more than $1.04bn, of which exports from the UAE were $588m and exports from Lebanon $457m.

Fouad Dandan, the Lebanese ambassador to the UAE, told Wam that Lebanon's first oil and gas exploration opens up possibilities to further strengthen trade between the two countries.

"Lebanon is seeking the UAE’s expertise in its budding oil and gas sector as the first offshore drilling will start within three weeks," Mr Dandan said.

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5