Week 20, 21, 22 Economic Reports - Lebanon

ECONOMY
p.2 Passengers at the airport up by 9.8% in the first four months of 2008
Figures released by the Harriri International Airport (HIA) reveal that air transport activity indicators displayed a growth in the first four months of 2008 relative to the same period of 2007.

Also in this issue:
p.2 Clearing activity up by 34.5% in the first four months of 2008
p.3 Property sales up by 22.4% in the first quarter of the year
p.3 Kafalat guarantees reach US$ 43.5 million in the first four months of 2008

SURVEYS
p.4 A 20.3% growth in Alpha banks profits in the first quarter of 2008
The Alpha report for the first quarter of 2008, which shows the performances and positioning of the Alpha banks operating in Lebanon, i.e those banks with deposits above US$ two billion, suggests that aggregate profits of alpha banks reported LP 301,870 million in the first quarter of 2008, growing by 20.3% relative to the first quarter of 2007.

CORPORATE NEWS
p.5 Bankmed posts net profits of US$ 11.4 million in the first quarter of 2008
Bankmed reported US$ 11.4 million in net profits in the first quarter of 2008, up by 21.7% from US$ 9.3 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Also in this issue:
p.5 Fransabank posts net profits of US$ 20.7 million in the first quarter of 2008
p.5 Crédit Libanais registers a 31.4% increase in net profits to US$ 10.0 million in the first quarter of 2008

MARKETS IN BRIEF
p.6 Considerable local demand for Eurobonds and the BSE reports profits
Lebanese capital markets benefited from the relaxed mood that spread across the country after electing the President and initiating parliamentary consultations to form the new cabinet. In fact, the foreign exchange market continued to witness a wave of US$-to-LP conversions this week, at higher volumes relative to the previous week, which called for the Central Bank’s intervention as a buyer of the green currency surpluses at a rate that started at 1,508.5 on Monday (versus LP 1,510 at the end of the previous week), then retreated to LP 1,508 on Friday, its lowest intervention rate since July 2006. As to the equity market, some profit-taking operations took place on the Beirut Stock Exchange this week following the unprecedented surge in prices witnessed last week after the announcement of a general political consensus in Doha. Subsequently, the price index closed at 185.58, down by 4.3% week-onweek, yet up by 25% since year-end 2007. The total trading value amounted to US$ 67 million this week versus US$ 141 million last week, and the trading volume index dropped by 53% to 676.4. At the level of the Eurobond market, the local and foreign demand that emerged last week was extended to this week, with local investors capturing the bulk of activity. The demand translated into a rise in prices, and the average spread shrank by 25 basis points to 483 basis points due to a decrease in Lebanese yields and an increase in benchmark yields.


tags: economic report, lebanon, beirut, lebanese, week 20 21 22, may june 2008, bank audi, finance, weekly report, finance, banking

-finkployd- Lebanon Economic Report on Blogging Beirut