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The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, inaugurated yesterday the Backyard restaurant complex in Hazmieh, east of the capital, in the presence of the President of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night Clubs and Pastries in Lebanon, Toni Rami, the town mayor, Jean Asmar and a crowd of dignitaries. Pharaon  underlined in his word the importance of such project which generates more than 500 jobs.  Karim Burhani, one of the general directors at the Emerging Investment Partners (EIP) revealed that the venture is one of three undertakings by the 2-year-old company founded by Obaji and Fadel families and Wassim Hneineh, and which invests in the various economic sectors across the Arab region. Burhani thanked the tourism ministry and Hazmieh mayor for their support of the $9 million complex stretching over nearly 7800 km2 and embracing some 17 eateries and pubs. For his part, Jean Asmar described the project as “beautifully crafted and unique in its delicate features, particularly with the participation of prestigious commercial institutions.” He stressed the need of Hazmieh and the environs for such a great touristic, glamorous and elegant getaway”. He pledged to make the investment a success, especially that it is expected to benefit the young generation by providing employment opportunities and expand the revenues of the municipality to continue delivering the best services for its constituency. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, June 3, 2016)

 

Prime Minister, Tamam Salam, said on the ‘National Day of Industry’ that despite huge ambitions to make industry the basic pillar of economy, this sector requires stability and favorable conditions to grow and flourish. Meanwhile, on the occasion, the minister of industry, Hussein Haj Hassan, set a timeline (5 to 7 years) needed to improve national industry. He said this will be achieved through “increasing total exports from USD 3.5 billion to USD 5 billion, while reducing imports from USD 18 billion to USD 16 billion.”  “As such, the trade deficit will fall from USD 15 billion to USD 11 billion,” he explained. The minister called on Arab and foreign partners to protect the Lebanese domestic economy and to support efforts aiming at boosting Lebanese exports and decreasing imports.

In a related vein, Haj Hassan sponsored earlier this week the 7th annual Lebanon Student Star Pack 2016 organized by the Lebanese Packaging Center, LibanPack, with the support of the Lebanese Industrialists Association and UNIDO. Among participants in the contest entitled ‘You love Lebanon, Work in the Industry Sector’, were some 400 students from prestigious universities in Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco who exhibited their innovative ideas in the packaging industry. Hajj Hassan noted the essential role of the canning and packaging technology as an added value to industrial and agricultural products. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Diyar, June 3, 2016)

 

 

The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Shehayeb, received yesterday a delegation from the World Bank and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) currently on a tour to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Discussions covered the status of Syrian refugees, the support to host countries and the water shortage crisis. The meeting centered on the preparation of partnership projects between the three parties to generate jobs for displaced people as well as their hosting communities. Among other topics of discussion, were finding ways to advance agricultural production and develop an ideal strategy for the investment of the country’s natural resources . Present at the meeting, were the FAO representative to Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saadeh, the general director of the Cooperatives and chairperson of the Green Plan, Gloria Abu Zeid, the head of the Directorate of Agricultural Resources, Mohamad Abu Zeid, the director of the Rural Development and Natural Resources Department, Dr. Shadi Mhanna and the head of the Directorate of Animal Resources at the Agriculture Ministry, Abeer Salwan. (Al Diyar, June 2, 2016)

 

SANAD Hospice Care hosted its third annual gala dinner last week at Sursok Gardens in Ashrafieh, Beirut, in collaboration with Socrate Catering. During the event, the president of the association, Lubna Ezzedine, underlined the significance of support by civil society and thanked Socrate Catering for its huge backing that reaped great funds this year. This, Ezzedine maintained, will substantially contribute to the expansion and development of the organization’s services in order to offer the best care possible and protect the patient’s dignity and quality of life. SANAD president also praised all the sponsors that were there since the onset of the NGO back in 2010. It is to be noted, that the gala dinner comes as part of SANAD’s objective to assist terminally-ill patients within the sanctuary of their own home. The free of charge services delivered cover medical, nursing, social and psychological care. 

Al Mustaqbal, May 29, 2016

 

In collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Bayat entrepreneurship incubator in Tripoli, kicked off yesterday the second phase of the ‘Support Entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)’ project at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North. During the launching, the project coordinator, Rana Rashed, pointed out to the close relationship between the DRC and the incubator which supervises the implementation of the above program for the second consecutive year, in partnership between Lebanese and Syrian entrepreneurs. For his part, Bayat general manager, Fawaz Hamdi, underlined the importance of feasibility studies which contain useful undertakings for the generation of young entrepreneurs. It is not an issue of funding only, Hamdi maintained, but also that of partnership that helps secure steady and productive prospects. Similarly, Bayat coordinator of cooperation with the Danish side, Sally Ayi outlined the basis of cooperation between the two parties, as well as the preparations for the next stage of the project. New grants applications and for registrations in the second phase of the project must be submitted by June 30th, at CCIA headquarters in Tripoli. (Al Mustaqbal, May 31, 2016)

 

The ministry of industry is organizing a four-day celebration of the ‘National Day of the Lebanese Industry’. The event starts at 3:30pm, today, Tuesday, with the opening of a training center at the Syndicate of Artisan, Industry Ministry, in Badaro. The occasion is sponsored by minister Hussein Haj Hassan and attended by local, Arab and international economic figures. On the agenda of Wednesday’s activities, is the EUROMED-ANIMA Invest meeting that will be held at the Bristol Hotel for, with the participation of some 150 representatives from the European Union and Arab countries, and which will focus on discussing ways of cooperation, as well as, the development of various exchanges, between Euro-Mediterranean countries. The closing day will host the annual Starbucks contest that is usually organized by the Lebanese Packaging Center, LibanPack. (Al Mustaqbal, May 31, 2016)

 

A survey by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) targeting 184 states in 24 regions across the world, ranked Lebanon in the 30th position in terms of direct and indirect contribution of its travel and tourism industry to the GDP in 2015. Entitled ‘The Economic Impact of the Travel and Tourism Industry for 2016’ which assesses the economic impact of the above sector in national economy and in the provision of jobs, pointed out that Lebanon’s contribution reached 22.1%, (US Dollars 9.9 billion), exceeding the global average rate of 9.8%. The direct contribution of the travel and tourism industry to the Gross National Product stood at 8.1%, (USD 3.6 billion) as compared to a global average rate of 3%. Regarding labor, the report indicated that the total number of jobs in the said sector was estimated at 326.8 thousand jobs in 2015, (tantamount to 21.3% of the labor market). The WTTC report also revealed that the total size of investments in the sector was estimated at USD 1.3 billion, representing 9.9% of total capital investments in the country. It also revealed that the overall spending by foreign tourists contributed to USD 6.9 billion, (51.9% of the total spending on tourism). 

(Al Diyar, May 30, 2016)

 

The head of the General Board Committee of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone (SZE) Management Authority, Raya Hassan, underlined last week the zone’s expected contribution to the reconstruction of Syria after war and its motivation of the economic life in north Lebanon through the provision of hundreds of jobs for young people. Hassan was speaking during a meeting at the Order of Engineers in Tripoli on the first anniversary of the official appointment of the Zone Authority by the Cabinet which was convened under the banner ‘Opportunities and Challenges of the Special Economic Zone in Tripoli-2016. Hassan revealed that the current stage is witnessing a progress in construction work of removing the seawater embankments by the contracted company. However, she expressed reservations on the creation of new SEZ in other parts of the country. This, she explained, can have negative impacts on the main purpose of the construction of the Tripoli special zone. She also added that if other zones are established, the Lebanese government should design a unified policy to regulate them in order to prevent unwanted conflict of goals. Hassan said she expects the government to make available for the project the necessary budget that can help it counter competition from similar zones in the Arab region and the world. (As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, May 25, 2016)

 

The President of the Regie Libanaise Des Tabacs & Tombacs, Engineer Nassif Siqlawi, expressed high hopes on the future of the Regie in becoming a globally established and sustainable tobacco producer. Siqlawi, who was speaking to As Safir newspaper on the  ‘future vision’ of the state-run company, boasted that the administration supports the growth of the domestic economy through its contribution to the social development of local communities. Siqlawi revealed more on the sustainable development program adopted by the Regie (http://bit.ly/1sNFPbG), Siqlawi said it targets farmers, sales directors, employees, municipalities, tobacco enterprises and concerned ministries. He explained that the Regie has conducted in-depth research and field surveys covering nearly 50% of stakeholders in order to identify priorities and factors controlling development. Respondents included 15 consultants, 18 ministries and public departments, 25 thousand tobacco growers, 70 tobacco companies, 700 sales directors, 1000 employees, 900 suppliers and 450 municipalities. On the contribution of the Regie to society and economy, Siqlawi pointed out that the company channels some LBP 350 billion (USD 230 million) to the government each year in the form of fees and taxes; provides one thousand steady jobs across the country; pays an annual compensation of LBP 50 billion in form of salaries and social benefits to its employees, and over and above donates LBP 13 billion worth of endowments to national institutions, namely, the Lebanese Army, the General Directorate of Public Security and Bassil Fleihan Finance and Economy Institute. The Regie CEO underlined the role of the company in supporting health-related causes, including for example, “observation of the health and safety management system, investment in health activities and provision of medical services, investment in public health research aimed at diminishing smoking-related diseases and, finally, investment in tobacco related studies. (As Safir, May 24, 2016)

 

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“The Regie” aims to go global and to support sustainable development

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