Confidence returns to ME investment, report

Middle East governments and companies are raising cash again from debt and equity markets, while solid oil prices and improving economic fundamentals are helping the region recover and restructure. (more…)

Merchants: The government must provide security

The Beirut Trade Association said in a statement issued Monday that insecurity hurts business and the government must enforce its sovereignty in order to protect national unity. (more…)

BLOM bank net profit up 13 percent, report

Lebanese BLOM Bank said first-half net profit rose 13.1 percent compared with the year-ago period to $156 million, supported by a buoyant domestic economy and strong consumer demand for loans. (more…)

Business Report: Lebanon is the real outperformer in the region

The three countries covered in this Business Forecast Report Jordan, Lebanon And Syria have all, to a greater or lesser degree, shrugged off the worst of the global economic slowdown. (more…)

Dubai based Lebanese plans airline in Lebanon

Georges Mousa, a Dubai-based Lebanese businessman, will launch a full-service airline from his country in the next 18 months, subject to necessary approvals.

“The plan for the airline is ready. However, we will have to wait for the Lebanese Government to open up the skies for competition,” Mousa, who owns Dubai-based Planet Group, told Gulf News.

The name of the airline is yet to be decided. (more…)

ArabNet Conference unites Mideast entrepreneurs with investors

Beirut – The ArabNet conference was staged with the aim of helping the Middle East become an economic powerhouse, giving startups access to multinational corporations like Microsoft and Google. (more…)

Lebanese-American “grandfather of the iPod” leaves Apple

Tony Fadell has formally ended his nine-year tenure with Apple, and is determined to tell his kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond his achievements with the iPod and iPhone.

Lebanon resumes sales of CDs to control inflation

Lebanon’s central bank resumed the sale of certificates of deposit today to help absorb excess liquidity in the banking system and keep control of inflation, Governor Riad Salameh said.
“We have an objective of keeping inflation at 4 percent and we want to absorb excess liquidity that could cause an increase in prices,” Salameh said in a telephone interview from Beirut today. “We want also to prevent speculation, especially in real estate, as too much liquidity could cause that.” (more…)

EFG Hermes sold its stake in Lebanon’s Bank Audi

Egypt’s Investment bank EFG Hermes said Monday it sold its entire stake in Lebanon’s Bank Audi for $913.4 million.
The Cairo-based firm said it sold its 7.5 million common shares and 2.5 million global depository receipts in the bank, Lebanon’s largest by assets, to a group of investors. It didn’t identify the buyers.
In a separate statement, EFG Hermes said that the sale was completed “without a block trade discount and at a premium,” and resulted in an unconsolidated capital gain of $260 million.
According to Bank Audi’s Web site, EFG Hermes held roughly 22% of the shares as of last April.
Bank Audi shares closed 2.73% higher on Beirut’s stock exchange at $91 per share. The bank had consolidated assets of $24.7 billion by the end of last September. WSJ

Kraft Foods dropping pizza, betting on chocolate

Kraft Foods Inc. is selling off its red-hot pizza business to raise more cash for its hostile pursuit of Cadbury PLC, making a long-term bet instead on chocolate. Marketwatch