Global banks see Lebanon's Cabinet formation as positive for economy |
|
Network this!
Text Size 
16 November 2009
BEIRUT: Merrill Lynch indicated that the formation of Lebanon’s long-awaited national unity government is positive, as it correlates Lebanon’s economic performance over the last two years largely with political stability in the aftermath of Doha accord in 2008, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.
It said that while it reflects the policy challenges, unity governments have proved to be fruitful for Lebanon.
It ruled out any improvement in the contentious political issues as well as in painful fiscal reforms such as the planned increase in VAT.
But it expressed optimism about the long-delayed sale of the mobile phone licenses, which is going to be largely used for debt reduction.
It noted that political stability and some progress on reforms and privatization, along with the currently solid macroeconomic performance and strong banking sector, should pave the way for a sovereign rating upgrade.
It considered that Lebanon is getting closer to such an upgrade following the formation of the unity government.
In parallel, Credit Suisse said that the formation of the government means that the risks of another breakdown of talks and of renewed political tensions have diminished considerably, adding that policy makers will get a chance to focus on economic and financial issues, five months after the parliamentary elections.
It expected Premier Saad Hariri to focus in particular on economic policy issues, at least initially, as scope for resolving key contentious issues on the local political agenda is set to remain elusive. It noted that the pro-Hariri majority has re-tained control over the key Finance portfolio as well as over the Economy and Trade Ministry.
Further, Standard Chartered Bank noted that Lebanon’s economic activity is strongly correlated to political stability. It added that the formation of a government will strengthen sentiment and further improve the economic environment.
It considered that political stability is crucial to GDP growth, as domestic consumption, confidence in the banking sector, investments by overseas Lebanese, and tourism are the largest contributors to GDP.
It said that the majority has kept the critical finance and economy portfolio, while the opposition received the telecommunications, energy, tourism, and industry portfolios. – The Daily Star
© Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
Community Comments (0) - 
Comment on this article 
Comment on this article
The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect Zawya. Read our Comment Policy.
Loading ...
Zawya Comment Policy:
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Loading ...
Post Your Tender Notices for FREE
(No Sign-in Required)
Zawya Tenders is a Tender Notices service entirely driven by contribution
from issuers in both public and private sectors. It is not an e-tendering service and is entirely FREE.
As an Issuer, you can benefit from posting an unlimited number of Tender
Notices for FREE and reaching out to an online community of bidders.
The service also offers you a tool to track the interest of bidders to your
tenders 'live' online.
from issuers in both public and private sectors. It is not an e-tendering service and is entirely FREE.
As an Issuer, you can benefit from posting an unlimited number of Tender
Notices for FREE and reaching out to an online community of bidders.
The service also offers you a tool to track the interest of bidders to your
tenders 'live' online.
| Tender Notice | Due Date |
Community Buzz
Stories
Companies
Most viewed companies by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Investment Corporation of Dubai | UAE | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Al Rajhi Bank | Saudi Arabia | Banking |
| Saudi Basic Industries Corporation | Saudi Arabia | Petrochemicals |
| Pepsi Cola International (Middle East) | Region-wide | Beverages |
| Emirates Airline | UAE | Transportation Services |
| Damas Jewellery | UAE | Specialized Retailers |
Projects
Most viewed projects by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| ADNOC/ConocoPhillips - Sour Gas Fields Development - Shah Field | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Qatar Foundation - Sidra Medical and Research Center | Qatar | Real Estate |
| SATORP- Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex - Conversion Unit and Sulphur Package (Part 2) | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion - Offsites and Utilities Package | UAE | Oil and Gas |