News updates

Endeavour Lebanon held a press conference last Friday on the future of the fashion industry in the country during which it presented the findings of a study on the structural weaknesses and strengths of the design and fashion sector. Endeavour Lebanon is a non-profit economic development organization that aims to support entrepreneurs from both sexes and in particular, young talents in the field of fashion design. Marie Christine Tabet, who conducted the survey, pointed out that the size of the global couture market is estimated at USD 420 billion compared to a USD 48 billion in the Arab Gulf region and only USD 40 million in Lebanon. She explained that fashion items under ‘Made in Lebanon’ tag are experiencing a fierce competition, despite the prominence of Lebanese fashion designers who have claimed international recognition in the domain, namely Elie Saab. Tabet drew also attention to the crafts industry that is disappearing, stressing the need to revive it. On the key challenges that hinder the development of this industry, the study indicated a decline in domestic sales due to the current country and regional instabilities which have affected the arrival of Arab tourists, poor marketing practices inside Lebanon, and the fact that retailers in Lebanon normally have no trust in the locally made fashion wear. For her part, Lara Khury, a Lebanese designer, complained that there is not enough recognition and space for independent fashion designers like her to emerge. To note, Khoury studied fashion design in Paris and trained in Lebanon under the supervision of Elie Saab and Rabi Kayrooz.  Khury, who launched in 2010 her first collection which carried her brand, regrets the fact that she sells nearly 60% of her production out of the country, particularly in Arab Gulf states, in Asia and particularly in China. (L’Orient Le Jour, 5 May 2015)

On Labor Day, former Minister Charbel Nahas published an article in Al Akhbar newspaper featuring the so-called Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tripoli, North Lebanon, under the title ‘The economic zone a present on May Day’. Nahas critically reviewed the SEZ regulations while describing how it violates the rights of workers and was in full breach of the State’s interests. The following is a summary of key points in the article:

SEZ General Management Committee

• The committee which will manage the zone is totally independent from the supervision of public institutions.
• The said committee, according to Article 8 of its bylaws, is in charge of setting licensing provisos for investment projects, and at the same time, is responsible for granting approvals for these projects. It is responsible for receiving applications and the issuing work permits for foreigners under a special system for the zone and then will transfer these to the Labor Ministry.
• The said committee exclusively exercises the power given to public institutions, state departments and municipalities with regard to granting administrative licenses and construction permits.

The SEZ Operator

• Aside from the previously mentioned body, the SEZ law has authorized the establishment of a new structure called the “Operator”, which by virtue of Article 1, is responsible for operating and developing the zone, partly or completely, in line with the set terms. Moreover and according to the law, the Operator may also carry out development and rehabilitation work in the zone.
• Article 12 of the SEZ law granted the Operator the opportunity of providing certain services in the zone, including the possibility of setting up some infrastructural ventures, like electricity, communications, water and other facilities, and operating them autonomously in the zone at competitive prices, according to agreed terms, a clause of the law which is in clear breach of the exclusivity of the public institutions to provide these services.

Activities and Services

• Article 17 states that investment enterprises in the zone may be active in the fields of trade, industry, services and storage, but not in tourism.
• Investors are exempted from taxes or fees, including customs tariffs, consumption fees inside the zone, export and import duties for vehicles, apparatus, equipment, materials, goods, income tax on profits, license fees, and many other fiscal advantages.
• Exemption from income tax on profits can be provided on two conditions: first, the total value of fixed assets in the institution or in its capital should not be less than the equivalent in national currency of three hundred thousand US dollar, and secondly, that the ratio of Lebanese workforce should not fall under 50% of total labor force of the company.

Workers Rights

• Work relations between wage earners and companies operating in the zone relating to wages and termination of contracts should observe the stipulations of contractual agreements between the two parties involved. And thus, they do not fall under those of the Lebanese Labor Law.
• Furthermore, Article 31 states that employers and wage earners are exempt from the provisions of the National Social Security Fund and that employers who recruit those workers in the zone are exempted from the obligations of declaration, registration and payment of their entitlements to the NSSF.
• According to Article 29, work permits or renewal applications by employers or workers who entered Lebanon for the purpose of working in the zone, will be submitted to the committee itself and not to the Labor Ministry, and therefore, it becomes hard to verify the proviso stipulating the recruitment of 50% of Lebanese workforce in return for exemption from profit taxes.
• Finally, Article 34 states that salaries of workers and wage earners of companies operating in the zone will also be exempted from income tax.

For the full article, press the below link:
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/231932

(Al Akhbar, 1 May 2015)

Labora organization held its 7th anniversary at Al Sufara Hall, Casino Du Liban, in the presence of archdiocese of Byblos, Archbishop Michel Aoun and MPs Hadi Hbeish and Marwan Faris. Labora President Father Toni Khadra stressed in his speech that Christians in Lebanon are breaking the cycle of frustration and neglect towards public sector employment and are now targeting jobs in state institutions. According to Labora statistics, Christian beneficiaries from both sexes until the end of 2014 were distributed as such: 56697 Christians oriented, 6919 Christians trained and 9569 effectively recruited. The economic profits resulting from the created jobs were estimated at USD 758 343 250, adding a fundamental economic and social component to the Christian presence in the country. Labora secured in 2014 some 2120 new posting for Christians in the military service and achieved a balance in the Public Security apparatus, in coordination with Major General Abbas Ibrahim, and almost parity in the State Security and the Internal Security Forces. Likewise, the collaboration of the association with the Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, created a fifty-fifty balance in the Military Customs Department. However, the biggest challenge remains to increase the Christian presence in the army, from 20% currently to at least 30-40%. Meanwhile, Labora will continue to aim at creating more job prospects for young Christian men and women in all various public sectors, as well as the private. More concretely the association ambitions for 2015 to enlist some 5880 Christians in the military services, a target which will necessitate funding amounting to USD250 000 in order to cover orientation and training activities. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 5 May 2015)

Tech for Kids, part of the Mobile Internet Ecosystem Project (MIEP), is hoping to start a new initiative about education in Lebanon. The venture, organized by the World Bank and the Ministry of Telecommunications, supports open innovation and crowd sourcing mechanisms in Lebanon. It hopes to spur innovation and entrepreneurship and boost the skills of the country’s workforce. For that end, the World Bank brought together education and innovation experts and government officials to discuss skills development in the 21st century. This meeting was held as part of a series of events which took place a week earlier to focus on understanding global trends in education. “The aim is to expose children, teachers, and government officials to the potential of technology for education, enhancing technology-related skills in teachers and children, and bring together stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem and education curriculum,” Hallie Applebaum, ICT innovator consultant at the World Bank Group, told The Daily Star. During the first workshop held in the Beirut Digital District (BDD), students and teachers learned about programming, robots, and sensors through three workshops. Also taking up a corner at BDD was Beirut’s Rapid Manufactory, a 3-D printing company, which presented a project entitled “QalamSila”, a creative construction design set that uses 3-D-printed connectors and wooden pencils. The workshop also stressed the importance of collaboration as a tool for fostering creativity and supporting new ideas, and the creation of curriculums that nurture critical thinking. The teachers also developed a lesson plan that was tested with students, at a second workshop also held at BDD. During the session, students completed the lesson using the skills they acquired from previous sessions. (The Daily Star, 27 April 2015)

According to the PhD thesis on poverty in the South and Nabatieh prepared by Fatmeh Ezzedine, which we posted extracts on 28-4-2015 (Click here to get the link) 38.5% of household in the South receive various forms of assistance (educational, health, material, or in-kind) while the highest level of assistance is provided by charitable and/or political organizations both categories accounting for 33% of total aid. The study also shows that 36% of households have problems commuting to their place of work while 62% of households own cars. The same study points out that 25% of households are in charge of 5 persons or more, noting that the age dependency rate in the South is 48.11%.  Furthermore, some 30% of surveyed families have a migrant family member whilst 27% of households live in houses of less than 100 square meters and 48% lease their living dwellings. In terms of housing quality, 60% of dwellings are old structures which do not possess basic conditions of salubrity such as natural light, healthy environment, etc… In relation to health matters, only 24% of households do regular medical checkups and with 68% possessing some kind of health insurance of whom 29% are covered by NSSF. Results also indicate that 64% suffer from chronic illnesses and 11.4% have members with mental or physical disabilities. In education, 15% of heads of households cannot read or write and only 30% have had elementary education and did not continue beyond it because of their financial situation.  Furthermore, some 60% reported cases of school dropouts and 22% have illiterate family members. Finally and at the social level, the study notes that only 32% of heads of household approve of women’s entry into the job market and 16% approve of women’s participation in politics. To be noted that 46% of the sampled households have affirmed having members that are affiliated in civil society organizations or political parties. (As Safir, 28 April 2015)

The School of Engineering in the Islamic University of Lebanon, under the patronage of the Minister of Industry, Hussein Haj Hassan, organized at the University’s auditorium in the Beirut suburb of Khaldeh, a seminar under the title: ‘Food Industries in Lebanon - Present and Future’. President of the Syndicate of Lebanese Food Industries, Munir Bsat, who participated in the event, noted that the future of the food industry centers around two headings: the first is the development of new products, secondly, expanding the size of the industrial enterprises and markets, and adopting a new strategy that keeps abreast of developments in the field. For his part, Minister Haj Hassan said the industrial sector remains one of the key pillars of the economy, greatly contributing to its growth despite the faulty policies, the lack of national economic development vision. Several working documents were presented during the seminar, by the food industry syndicate, the Ministry of Industry and the IU School of Engineering, followed by discussions resulting in a number of recommendations. On a similar note, Al Akhbar newspaper published a summary of an interview with Bsat who commended the achievements of the sector despite the precarious general economic conditions in the country. According to the SLFI chief, the Lebanese food industries ranked first among the exports sectors during the last quarter of the year 2014, while recording $520 million in total exports. The achievements of the sector according to Al Akhbar can be traced to the growing external demand for the high quality Lebanese food products, at a time of falling Syrian exports to those foreign markets as a result of the war, as well as the growing domestic demand for Lebanese products resulting from the increase in consumption by the growing number of Syrian refugees. In reply to a question on the strategies and methods adopted by the Syndicate to promote the Lebanese products in global markets, Bsat pointed out namely to the participation in international food exhibitions. He also noted several obstacles hindering the growth of sector, mainly the deficit in local technical skills, insufficient financing and industrial land areas for the setting up of high quality enterprises. Finally, Bsat expressed his regret for the absence of sound industrial policies to develop the entire sector and particularly food processing. (Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, 29 April & 1st May 2015)

The General Assembly of the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA), elected a new administrative committee with Charles Arbid winning presidency unanimously for the second time running. The other elected members include Madiha Arslan vice president, Yahya Qas’a general secretary, Charles Tahoumi, finance secretary and Aline Kamakian, Rabi’ Kousa, Antoni Maalouf, Issam Rahal, Michel Firnaini, Christine Sfeir, Kareem Miknas and Mark Kalasi as members at large. In his speech, Arbid thanked all the members for their trust and contributions to the Association’s successes and achievements at the national and economic levels. He pointed out that LFA’s role in boosting and protecting the vital interests of the franchise sector depends on the collaboration of male and female members of various economic groupings in order to achieve a true and effective partnership within the private sector and with the public sector. This, Arbid added, will enable Lebanon to overcome the present critical period. (As Safir, 24 April 2015)

Fair Trade Lebanon organized a press conference last Tuesday under the auspices of the Minister for Administrative Reform and in collaboration with Social Movement. The event was held at the Media Syndicate in order to announce that ten Lebanese towns have joined the Fair Trade network, which groups more than 1700 towns worldwide and which aims at spreading the concept of Fair Trade worldwide. The ten Lebanese towns in questions are: Ain Ebel in Bent Jbeil, Qlea in Marjeyoun, Abra in the district of Sidon, Kafr Tibnit in Nabatiyeh, Sidoon in Jezzine, Biskinta in the district of Metn, Albisariya in Sidon, Mhaydtheh in Rashaya, Ferzol in Zahle, and Monjaz in Akkar. According to L’Orient le Jour, joining the network entails that Fair Trade Lebanon will buy the products of the cooperatives in these towns at prices exceeding cost price by 20 to 30 %.  FTL will then certify the products and facilitate their marketing. In his speech, Fair Trade president Philippe Adaime noted that FTL is currently working on certifying a number of domestic products such as thyme, chickpeas, lentils and spices. For his part, De Freige added that fair trading seeks at over-passing the chain of middlepersons between producers to consumers while taking into consideration the realities of small agricultural and handcrafts producers. De Freige further noted that his Ministry’s support of Fair Trade is because it considers trading to be a vital economic sector as it contributes to 30% of the GDP and is likely to help other sectors develop and improve. In addition, he said that there is a need to adopt a new vision for commercial activities, one that mainstream and propagates Fair Trade principles. In concluding, De Freige invited the ten concerned towns to work further on a sustainable development which will assist in securing the rights of small farmers and producers away from any form of exploitation. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Mustaqbal, 29 April 2015)