Lebanon 2015 economic performance is the slowest in a decade

The Lebanon Economic Report released by Audi Bank for the last quarter of 2015 indicated a significant slowdown in domestic economy as a result of the unfavorable security and political situations in the country and the region. According to the said report, economic sectors witnessed one of the toughest years for more than a decade, with all indexes recording either a shrink or a sluggish growth. According to the report, local demand was weak, private and public investments were low, while external demand declined. This overall sluggishness of the economy is reflected by the economic indicators which have recorded net reduction in the following sectors: exports (-10.9%), imports (-11.8%), and real estate activity (-10.6%). According to the same report, the deficit in the balance of payments widened during last year, increasing to USD3.3 billion from USD 1.4 billion in 2014 and thus touching a new record.

As for general finance, data indicated and increase of deficit by nearly 17.4% which came as the result of general reduction (8.6%) in public revenues concurrent with a decline (by 2.9%) in public spending. For its part, the ratio of public debt to GDP recorded 130% at the end of November 2015 compared to 133% at the end of 2014. The report also noted that in the context of shrinking external financial inflow, bank deposits recorded a modest growth of USD 7.2 billion in 2015 against USD 8.2 billion in 2014. Finally, and according to a number of economic analysts at Audi Bank, real GDP is expected to grow by a mere 2 % during 2016. (L’Orient Le Jour, February 13, 2016)