The annual report issued by “Fransabank” on the Lebanese economy for 2018 revealed that Lebanon achieved a real growth rate of 1 percent due to the improvement in Rafic Hariri International Airport's activity, based on an increase in the passengers’ number of 7.4 percent over 2017, reaching more than 8.8 million passengers in 2018.
According to the report, tourism has improved on the basis of the increase in the number of tourists by 5.8% from 2017 to nearly two million tourists in 2018. There was also an improvement in the national export movement, which expanded by 4.4% on an annual basis to about 2.7 billion dollars until the end of November 2018. This growth is also linked to the improvement in banking activity, with the assets of commercial banks increasing by 13.8% year-on-year to reach $250 billion by the end of 2018.
On the other hand, some economic sectors witnessed a decline in their activity, including real estate sector where the number of real estate transactions decreased by 17.4% between 2017 and 2018.
Source: (Anbaa Online site, Edited)
