The Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) has announced that foreign direct investments’ flow to Lebanon reached $2.63 billion in 2017, compared to $2.61 billion in 2016 and $2.34 billion in 2015.
On the other hand, Standard & Poor estimated sovereign debt rating for Lebanon at B-, and revised outlook for public debt from positive to "stable", indicating that the continued flow of deposits into the banking sector remains sufficient to finance the country's borrowing needs.
According to Nassib Ghobril, Head of Economic Research and Analysis at Byblos Bank Group, “this classification confirms the stability of the exchange rate of the pound and public finances, despite the challenges facing the Lebanese economy”, he affirmed during an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper.
Standard & Poor's addressed the challenges facing Lebanon in its report, focusing on the fact that the lack of clarity from economic policies and decision to increase last year’s taxes are factors that negatively affect consumption and other economic sectors, including real estate activity in all its components.
According to the agency, the flexibility of public spending in the budget is limited, because of the size of public payroll and wage block, public debt service, and transfers to Electricity of Lebanon from treasury.
Source (Al-Hayat newspaper, Edited)
