News

In coordination with BACTS company, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida and the South organized last week a training session on hospitality techniques, aimed for workers in the restaurants, hotels and cafes sector. The workshop entitled ‘Basics and Rules of Guest Service in Restaurants, Cafes and Hotels’ was attended by the staff of the different touristic foundations and hotels operating in the area. On the occasion, chief of the Saida Chamber, Mohammad Hassan Saleh, underlined the importance of the workshop which completes a series of previous training courses on food, which focused on internationally standards and aimed at boosting the tourism industry in that part of the country, Saleh said. (Al Diyar, February 22, 2016)

 

The Lebanese Council of Women (LCW) held last Friday a ceremony to honor Rabab Sadr for her notable charitable contributions, including the building of houses for disadvantaged children, according to LCW chief Jamal Hurmos Ghabril.  Sadr, likewise, pointed out that the cause of the outburst of communities is the oppression and discrimination practiced against women, coupled with inadequate development as a result of the first. “Today, some seek to link terrorism to Islam, which is fatally wrong. Islam on the contrary calls for equality and social justice, fights ignorance and promotes the role of women as the cornerstone of society,” Sadr stated. And while stressing the need to build a woman’s personality based on profound self-confidence, Sadr emphasized the importance of complementarity between men and women to avoid undesirable social crises. (Al Mustaqbal, February 20, 2016)

 

The Spot network of shopping malls launched recently a social media campaign aimed at connecting mothers with their children scattered in the countries of Diaspora. The hashtag shta2tellikmom invites the young Lebanese men and women living outside to send a selfie expressing their love and longing to their moms. The owner of the most innovative video shall win a free ticket to Lebanon giving him the opportunity to celebrate Mothers’ Day with his mom. It should be noted that according to the latest statistics, more than 45% of Lebanese women are emigrants, and that over 59% of the youth between 35 and 39 years of age live and work outside Lebanon and see their parents on holidays only, which does not include Mothers’ Day. (Al Mustaqbal, February 22, 2016)

 

In a feature published on February 20, An Nahar daily quoted figures of the Consumers Protection Association (CPA) which have shown a remarkable rise in prices of food products, particularly those of fruits and vegetables at the start of the Christian fasting season. According to CPA president, Zuheir Berro, the increase varied according to regions, pointing to a 30-40% difference in price levels within the Administrative Beirut area as compared to the capital’s suburbs, and even a greater difference compared with Tripoli which reached sometimes 200%. Meanwhile, the Technical Bureau of Prices released a report detailing the average prices of basic commodities of the small food basket covering some 60 items which has been sampled from 53 sale points across the Lebanese governorates. The sample was taken two weeks before and one week after the fasting period, between January 25 and February 8, 2016. Data indicated an increase by only 0.3% in the overall rate of the prices of the food basket, with a significant 7.5% increase in vegetables. (For a detailed list of prices, please visit: http://www.economy.gov.lb/public/uploads/files/7513_9803_1628.pdf). On the other hand, Dr. Ali Berro, head of the prices bureau, noted that the variation in figures is the result of differences in the certified basket of prices. He explained that the CPA’s adopts narrower basket which included fewer commodities which renders the comparison between the two baskets impossible. For his part, the director of the Consumers Protection, Engineer Tarek Younis, noted that the Ministry of Economy has not received any complaints about any extraordinary price increases, except for one food item, the watercress, which jumped as a result of the market supply and demand fluctuations during the fasting season. (An Nahar, February 20, 2016)

 

A close look at the food safety campaign launched by the Ministry of Public Health last year indicated, according to An Nahar issue of today, that Lebanon has made headways as 75% of Lebanese restaurants now meet the safety and health standards whilst the rest are in the process of doing so.  The newspaper interviewed the president of the syndicate of restaurants, Tony Rami, who noted that Lebanese restaurants can now compete with French restaurants in terms of health and cleanliness.  He referred to reports issued by the French Ministry of Agriculture which indicated that only one third of Parisian restaurants meet health and safety standards.  Rami also referred to information about a study implemented by his syndicate in collaboration with the GWR consulting group and for which the results will be released soon during a press conference.  The study confirms that products of 85% to 90% of restaurants are now safe and their kitchens meet international standards as a result of the food safety campaign and the awareness of the restaurant owners as well as the persistence of the Ministries of Tourism and Public Health to conduct  field visits to restaurants.  He added that these excellent results do not apply only to Category One restaurants but also to street food and cafes. (An Nahar, 19 February 2016)

 

Stephanie Hanna and Aline Gemayel won the Francophone Women Award in Investment World 2015. While Hanna won the first prize for her project ‘Your Name’, Aline Gemayel and Emile Arayes came second for the Modeo interior decoration application of an original furniture design that goes from the internet directly to the consumers’ offices or residences. Hanna’s project was based on her experience in the West where uses ‘etiquette’ labels are widely used by parents to communicate with their children at school, or by scouts while practicing their hobbies. In an interview with An Nahar, Hanna explained that she was inspired by her experience as a mother who continuously seeks to find the matching etiquette labels for her children and designed a specific application for the contest that uses French and English labels for kindergarten kids. The latter application helps daycare centers to identify the needs of children to diagnose or determine the type of disease or allergy to certain foods which they suffer from. The idea for the ‘Modeo’ project, on the other hand, came after an arduous search by interior decorators, Arayes and Gemayel, for their marital home furniture. They finally agreed to develop an application, still under experimentation, that will facilitate the selection of furniture for houses or offices. The said application, Gemayel explained, will grant consumers the opportunity to personally design their furniture, and thereafter send it to Emile and Aline for implementation in a short period of time, or alternatively choose from an existing collection of private offices or kitchen cabinets or other modern home accessories. (An Nahar, February 17, 2016)

 

The Minister of Labor Sajaan Azzi disclosed that the level of unemployment in Lebanon has risen from 11.3% before the Syria war to nearly 25% following the displacement of refugees. Azzi was speaking during the conference held last Monday in Paris entitled and entitled: ‘The Experience of Syrian Displacement to Lebanon and Jordan’ which was organized jointly by the World Bank, the French Agency for Development and the Center for Mediterranean Integration. Quoting World Bank figures, Azzi said the number of laid off Lebanese workers reached some 346 thousand persons as a result of the refugee crisis. He added that “Lebanon did not wait for the world community or for the recommendations of the London Conference of Donors to recruit Syrian nationals,” pointing out to the presence of “over half a million Syrian nationals working in the construction, agriculture, development and environment sectors. These, he said, are welcome as long as they meet the needs of the domestic labor market, but that the priority in employment will always be for Lebanese professionals. In conclusion, Azzi appealed to the United Nations to adopt a new approach in resolving the refugee crisis which transcends experts’ reports and studies to addressing the causes of displacement. He urged them to develop a plan for the return of Syrian refugees to their country. (Al Diyar, February 16, 2016)

 

In its issue of today, As Safir daily published a feature shedding light on the traditional silver craft industry that flourished in Rashayya Al Wadi during the rule of the Shehab dynasty and remained buoyant throughout the Ottoman rule. The newspaper said that young generations of notable families such as the Shatila, Rassi and Ayoob learned the craft from Turkish masters and acquired an extensive experience which they developed, expanded and for which they sought markets. As Safir pointed out that the golden age of the industry started to decline in the second half of the last Century where the number of workshops shrank to almost three as a result of fierce foreign competition. Noting that in the late nineteenth century, the number of active silver workshop topped 19 craft-shops employing some fifty skilled craftsmen.

As Safir spoke to the owner of one of the three remaining workshops, Issam Al Moket, who described Rashayya as “the ‘mother’ of silver and gold manufacturing industry not only in Lebanon and Syria, but also in Canada and some European countries” where many Lebanese emigrants live. Al Moket underscored the distinctive features, accuracy and exquisiteness of the special silver products of Rashayya, while criticizing the fierce competition from products imported from Iran, Italy and Turkey. He lamented that these products were being dumped in the local markets and “are being sold at low prices because they are not handmade and do not cost much compared to traditional crafting”. He finally called for legislations that will protect domestic industries. (As Safir, February 18, 2016)

 

The Lebanon Economic Report released by Audi Bank for the last quarter of 2015 indicated a significant slowdown in domestic economy as a result of the unfavorable security and political situations in the country and the region. According to the said report, economic sectors witnessed one of the toughest years for more than a decade, with all indexes recording either a shrink or a sluggish growth. According to the report, local demand was weak, private and public investments were low, while external demand declined. This overall sluggishness of the economy is reflected by the economic indicators which have recorded net reduction in the following sectors: exports (-10.9%), imports (-11.8%), and real estate activity (-10.6%). According to the same report, the deficit in the balance of payments widened during last year, increasing to USD3.3 billion from USD 1.4 billion in 2014 and thus touching a new record.

As for general finance, data indicated and increase of deficit by nearly 17.4% which came as the result of general reduction (8.6%) in public revenues concurrent with a decline (by 2.9%) in public spending. For its part, the ratio of public debt to GDP recorded 130% at the end of November 2015 compared to 133% at the end of 2014. The report also noted that in the context of shrinking external financial inflow, bank deposits recorded a modest growth of USD 7.2 billion in 2015 against USD 8.2 billion in 2014. Finally, and according to a number of economic analysts at Audi Bank, real GDP is expected to grow by a mere 2 % during 2016. (L’Orient Le Jour, February 13, 2016)