Week 11 Economic Report - Lebanon

SURVEYS

p.4 A 23.6% growth in Alpha banks’ profits in 2007
The Alpha report for full-year 2007, which shows the performances and positioning of the Alpha banks operating in Lebanon, i.e those banks with deposits above US$ 2 billion, was released this week.

p.4 Standard and Poor’s evaluates Lebanese Banks’ resistance to political deadlock


CORPORATE NEWS

p.5 SGBL’s net profits up by 38.3% to US$ 11.6 million in 2007
Societe Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) posted US$ 11.6 million in 2007 net profits, up by 38.3% from US$ 8.4 million in 2006.

p.5 BLOM Bank raises stake in Capital Bank of Jordan to 5.6%

p.5 LAU issues US$ 75 million bond to finance educational programs

p.5 M1 Travel acquires three Embraer jets in a US$ 112.5 million deal


MARKETS IN BRIEF

p.6 A status quo prevails in Lebanese capital markets ahead of the Arab Summit
Lebanese capital markets reported a weak activity this week within the context of a persisting local political stalemate and a declining possibility of electing a President before the Arab Summit is held at end-March. On the equity market, the total trading value was limited to US$ 8.8 million against an average weekly trading value of US$ 12.5 million since the beginning of the year 2008. The price index barely moved up by 1% to 146.35, noting that Bank Audi’s GDRs price reported a staggering rise of 11% this week. On the Eurobond market, a local demand floated on the surface, especially for the new sovereign bond that was issued last week for an amount of US$ 875 million. However, this demand was not translated into a change in prices, and the average spread tightened slightly by four basis points to reach 627 basis points, due to the relative stability in Lebanese and benchmark yields. At the level of the foreign exchange market, the offer for the US Dollar persisted this week; starting in small volumes at the beginning of the week then shifting to higher moderate volumes since mid-week. As such, the Central Bank continued to intervene as a buyer of the green currency surpluses at LP 1,512.5, thus boosting its foreign reserves. Meanwhile, commercial banks traded the US Dollar at a rate hovering between LP 1,512.5 and LP 1,514.


--Source-- Bank Audi >> Full PDF


BLOM Week 11 - Lebanon Economic Report - Full PDF

Byblos Week 11 - Lebanon Economic Report - Full PDF



tags: economic report, lebanon, beirut, lebanese, week 11, march 2008, bank audi, finance, blom, byblos bank, weekly report

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