Doing business slides back in Lebanon, World Bank says

In a feature published last week, Al Akhbar daily reported a slide in doing business in Lebanon for 2016, placing the country at rank 123 among 189 states covered by the survey, with a recorded fall from 121 in 2015. According to the review, Lebanon ranked 114 globally for ‘starting a new business’, noting that establishing an enterprise requires 6 measures over a period of 15 days. Also, Lebanon came 109 globally under the ‘ease of access to credit’ profile, whereas, the report saw more strain in the process of the transfer of real estate, pointing to a prolonged property registration measures. 

On the other hand, Al Akhbar quoting the latest statements by the World Bank, pointed out that the remittances of Lebanese expatriates continue to be a receptive reservoir, anticipating an increase to US$ 7.489 billion in 2015 up from US$ 7.446 billion in 2014. “Despite the political and security instability in the region and the geo-political changes worldwide, as well as the paralysis of institutions in Lebanon, the Lebanese expats have proved to remain tough. This is reflected in a business stamina and an exceptional capacity seen in an upsurge in remittances against last year, where Lebanon ranked 15 globally and 13 regionally,” the newspaper said. (Al Akhbar, November 4, 2015)