Tag Archives: IMF loan

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday lamented the presence of “systematic campaigns that are based on lies and aimed at political assassination.” The President, however, stressed that he is determined to “try and make the necessary change, no matter the challenges.” “Politically, there are fabricated and normal crises, and the forensic …

Lebanon has yet to give the IMF its estimate of losses in the financial system as discussions on the issue continue, but is working hard to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Fund by year-end, governor Riad Salameh told Reuters on Tuesday. Disagreements in Lebanon over the size of …

The IMF has begun “preparatory” talks with Lebanon on a new aid package after receiving an official request from Beirut, an IMF spokesman said Thursday. That will be a welcome relief to the new government that is trying to stem an economic crisis the World Bank brands as one of …

Lebanon’s new government aims to make progress towards starting full negotiations for an IMF deal by the end of this year or early next, but is not expecting funds to be dispersed before elections in March, a minister said on Friday. In an interview with Reuters, economy minister Amin Salam …

Lebanon is witnessing significant demand for the installation of solar power units, amid a severe energy crisis that saw the country plunged into a total blackout on Saturday. Two main power stations went offline because they ran out of fuel, said the state electricity company Electricite du Liban, with people …

Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet with the advisory firm Lazard soon to see how a financial recovery plan it drafted for Lebanon could be developed into a “more realistic” vision for getting the country out of its crisis, he said on Monday. Mikati also said Lebanon would be very …

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday the financial recovery plan to be drawn up by his cabinet will include a fair distribution of losses suffered by the financial system. In an interview with local television LBCI, Mikati also said the rights of small depositors would be protected. “The …

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Beirut on Friday to implement urgent reform measures and push ahead with International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks, adding that France would continue to support Lebanon. Macron made his comments after meeting Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is on his first foreign trip after successfully …

Lebanon’s new government won a vote of confidence on Monday for a policy programme that aims to remedy a devastating economic crisis, despite the parliamentary session being delayed when the lights went off due to power shortages. The programme drawn up by Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government promises to revive …

Lebanon’s new government raised gasoline prices on Friday, cutting a subsidy that Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said is unaffordable as he advances plans to address a devastating financial crisis. The government also signed a new contract with restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to carry out a forensic audit …

Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who took office last week promising to revive IMF talks to unlock aid, said on Monday there was no time to lose and no easy path to tackle one of history’s worst economic meltdowns. The new government, formed after more than a year of …

The first Iranian fuel oil cargo secured through Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah will be delivered via Syria by truck to avoid complications related to sanctions, two sources with knowledge of the mater said on Thursday. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, announced last month that a shipment of Iranian fuel oil was on its way …

Immigration from Lebanon is entering a state of “exodus” as the many crises hitting the small Mediterranean country remain unresolved, according to the Crisis Observatory, an interdisciplinary research program launched by the American University of Beirut. The continuing immigration of thousands of Lebanese is reaching a tipping point, the research …

More than 12 months since Lebanon’s cabinet resigned and with the country teetering on the brink of collapse, politicians look unlikely to form a much-needed government any time soon, sources warn. Despite one of the world’s largest-ever non-nuclear explosions killing more than 200 people, soaring hyperinflation, food insecurity and crippling …

A shipment of Iranian fuel oil for Lebanon will set sail on Thursday (Aug 19) organised by the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hizbollah, the group said, cautioning its US and Israeli foes against any moves to halt the consignment that it said aimed to ease an acute fuel crisis. Hizbollah’s opponents …

Lebanon’s central bank said it would offer credit lines for fuel imports based on the market price for the Lebanese pound from Thursday, effectively ending a fuel subsidy that has drained its reserves since the country descended into financial crisis. The move, announced late on Wednesday, means fuel prices will …

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday condemned criticism of Lebanon’s Christian Maronite patriarch after he expressed opposition to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah, warning that insults must be avoided to safeguard national unity. Following a cross-border salvo between Israel and Hezbollah, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai was sharply critical of Hezbollah on …

Three Lebanese men died in altercations on Monday related to scarce fuel supplies, an army statement and security source said, as the country reels from a long-running economic crisis. Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years, causing shortages of fuel, electricity and …

A Lebanese child, Zahra Tleis, died on Friday, after being stung by a scorpion, and her family being unable to find an antidote to treat her, due to medicine shortages in the country. Some vital medicines can only now be found on the black market, but are sold at exorbitant …

 Lebanese crypto miners are in trouble. Lebanon has plunged into near total darkness because of its recent electricity shortage crisis, leaving mining machines suspended mid-way in their operations and their owners writhing over their financial losses. In the last two years, a growing number of Lebanese youths have turned to …

Two endangered bears who were living in poor conditions in a Lebanon zoo have been flown to an animal sanctuary in the US after they started to lose weight and suffered from other health issues. Rights association Animals Lebanon said it managed to persuade their owner that “the bears deserved …

Lebanon’s new prime minister-desginate Najib Mikati said on Monday he would work to form a government and implement a French plan to save the country from its crippling financial crisis. “I don’t have a magic wand and can’t perform miracles… but I have studied the situation for a while and …

Lebanon’s wealthy businessman and former premier Najib Mikati is poised to be designated prime minister on Monday after winning the support of most major parties to form a new government facing a crippling financial crisis, political sources said. Earlier, a club of former Lebanese Sunni prime ministers said on Sunday …

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday the main impediment to investment in the country was money stuck in ailing Lebanese banks. In a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, Assad said estimates suggested the frozen funds were worth between $40 billion and $60 billion. …

 Riots left more than two dozen people injured in Tripoli on Friday, including 10 soldiers, as tensions continued to rise in Lebanon. “The situation seems to be getting worse, and things are about to escalate because we are facing a difficult political and social fate,” said Lebanese Armed Forces Commander …

French President Emmanuel Macron will host a new international conference on Lebanon next month on the first anniversary of the Beirut port explosion, after premier-designate Saad Hariri gave up trying to form a government, the foreign ministry announced Friday. Macron will organize the conference on August 4 with the help …

Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his months-long effort to form a new government on Thursday, dimming the chances of a cabinet being agreed any time soon that could start rescuing the country from financial meltdown. Hariri announced his decision after meeting President Michel Aoun, saying it was clear they could not agree, …

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri said on Wednesday he had presented a cabinet proposal to President Michel Aoun and is awaiting his response on Thursday, in a move that could end almost nine months of political deadlock amid an economic collapse. “Now is the moment of truth,” Hariri, who has …

The European Union said on Monday it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians …

Taha Riz has worked just three days in more than a month at his Tripoli bakery, in Lebanon’s neglected north where economic meltdown has hit hardest and plunged thousands like him into precarious poverty. The bakery, like Tripoli itself, survived earlier hardship when sectarian tensions fuelled by the war in …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday the central bank bore responsibility for the country’s financial collapse and for stalling an audit which is a key condition for foreign aid the country badly needs. In a national address, Aoun accused Lebanese banks of squandering people’s savings and the central bank …

The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday it was willing to redouble efforts to help Lebanon after the devastating blast that hit Beirut, but said all of the country’s institutions needed to show willingness to carry out reforms. In a statement to an emergency donor conference for Lebanon, the IMF’s …

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned on Monday over what he described as lack of political will to reform as his nation wrestles with a financial crisis posing the biggest threat to stability since a 1975-1990 civil war. Foreign donors have made it clear there will be no aid until …

One Lebanese woman asked for sugar, milk and soap in exchange for a child’s dress. Another wanted canned goods in return for gym equipment. A 65-year-old seamstress now exchanges her sewing services for food, because her clients can no longer afford to pay her. Bartering on Facebook has become the …

Dozens of people lay flowers on a main Beirut street where a man killed himself on Friday, with some blaming his death on the country’s economic collapse that has left more and more Lebanese hungry. Reuters could not establish the motive for the apparent suicide. The 61-year-old man shot himself …

As accelerating poverty fuels anger, despair and fear of a social explosion, efforts by Lebanon’s ruling elite to salvage the country from a financial meltdown with IMF help seem to be going in reverse. A country known across the Middle East for its glamorous lifestyle and commercial savoir faire now …

The coronavirus is putting Egypt’s private cement industry under even more pressure. Already scrambling to respond to competition from a vast new factory owned by the military, the pandemic has stymied a nascent rebound in sales, raising the possibility of plant closures, industry executives and analysts say. Demand for cement …

Egypt plans to launch its first sovereign fund by the end of the year and will begin a roadshow in the first half of 2019 to drum up private investment, the country’s planning minister said. Modelled after sovereign funds in India and Malaysia, Egypt’s new investment arm will seek to …