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H.E. Maha Al-Khatib, Jordan Minister of Tourism with MarcoPolis Team
MarcoPolis is an international
press agency that has launched the first multimedia business profiles
announced on BBC.com, NYTimes.com
and IHT.com.
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Latest Interviews |
 Jordan Finance Ministry, Minister of Finance of Kingdom of Jordan, H.E. Dr. Mohammad Abu Hammour
Jordan has been affected by the economic crisis. In the last year the
growth rate was 2.8% but we heard that this year it would not be less
than 4%. What I am doing is cutting total expenditures, by doing that we
will cut budget deficit from 9% last year to 6%.
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 Lebanon Political Situation, Minister of Information of Lebanon, Tarek Mitri
This is the second cabinet that consists of 30 ministers that do
represent all the religious communities in Lebanon. But the novelty is
that we have had two consecutive national unity governments; governments
that have the widest possible political representation. We are
government that seeks consensus which brings stability.
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Latest Report - Top Stories |
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 A tectonic development in Lebanon’s political history began with the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005. This resulted in huge demonstrations on March 8th (Hezbollah and its allies) and counter-demonstrations on March 14th 2005, primarily by moderate anti-Syrian elements.
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 Mohamed Chatah , Advisor to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, best summarizes
how Lebanon plans to navigate toward the future:
“Politics in the
middle east are turbulent and Lebanon is often pulled in all sorts of
directions. Because Lebanon is rich with diversity, this results in a
noisy and often difficult democracy that we have to navigate through
without abandoning our principles."
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 The most serious foreign policy challenge facing both the government and
the economy is another war with Israel. All political parties,
including Hezbollah, are committed to developing the nation’s military
forces. But all also agree that until a national army is ready,
Hezbollah’s armed groups may again be relied upon in the event of an
Israeli attack.
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 In the ancient world, Lebanese wine was celebrated The Romans so
celebrated the wines of the Bekaa Valley that they dedicated one
of the largest temples to wine in the world—the famous Temple of Bacchus
in Baalbek.
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 While enjoying the delights of cosmopolitan Beirut, one of the best
places to stay in order to experience the city is the Phoenicia
InterContinental Hotel.
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Key Institutions |
Global
Banking Corporation B.S.C.(c) GBCORP is an Islamic investment bank
incorporated in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Global
Banking Corporation (GBCORP) pursues a dynamic
business model. Global
Banking Corporation (GBCORP) business strategy is to build on the region’s positive economic
outlook.
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Sector Analysis |
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A s long at there is peace in the Middle
East, Lebanon is one of the best investment
choices. This is not only
because Lebanon has been growing in every sector, but because there is
still time to get in on the ground floor of future growth; because
Lebanon has a host of unmet needs. These include basic infrastructure
requirements.
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 The banking sector in Lebanon is one of the strongest in the region, based on solid fundamentals namely high liquidity, strict and stringent regulation by the central bank and strong policies that have been evolving in line with market needs and trends. The sector represents the backbone of the Lebanese economy Mohammed Hariri , president and CEO of BankMed
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 Most industrial production is for local consumption; however, it a
significant portion is exported. Major merchandise exports are jewelry
(27%); electrical equip,equipment and products (16%); base metals (13%);
food products (8%), and chemical products (7%).
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 The group employs 7500 people in Cyprus, Egypt, England, France, Greece,
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Sudan, Ukraine, and the United States.
“Our human capital is the most important capital of INDEVCO group… this
is why our people are very much empowered”, says Neemat G. Frem,
President & CEO.
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 The figures bear this out. In 2009, Lebanon posted the highest rate of
growth in tourist arrivals in the world—a stunning 39%. Of course, this
was off of a low year, but the growth continues; for the first quarter
of 2010, growth over 2009 is at 32%.
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 The mobile penetration rate in Lebanon is generally reported to be at 28 percent, which is far behind other countries in the region. Although Marwan Hayek, Chairman and CEO of Alfa, one of the two government-owned telecom operators, believes that it is actually 55%. But still, this is significantly lower than that of neighboring countries such as Jordan (74%), or Saudi Arabia (78%).
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Top Interviews |
 Top Bank in the Middle East, BankMed,
Chairman, Mohammed Hariri
My aim is to increase our equity, which has doubled since 2005. Also, I
would like to double our assets and be a leader in the strategic
business lines we have targeted. We are considering opening up our
capital to outsiders but this is in the very early stages of planning.
Further, we would like to consolidate our banking operations which are
currently split across the region.
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 Lebanon Privatization, Vice Chairman of MEDCO s.a.l. and Chairman of Phoenicia Oil Company s.a.l., Nicolas G. Chammas
We are the first group in the country to diversify in such a way that we
are composed of fourteen completely separate companies that fall under
one management group. We are in oil, transportation, we have a fleet of
tankers, and cement factories, for example, and at the same time we
have been contractors.
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 Lebanon Foreign Policy, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Policy, Mohamed Chatah
Politics in the middle east are turbulent and Lebanon is often pulled in
all sorts of directions. Because Lebanon is rich with diversity this
results in a noisy and difficult democracy that we have to navigate
through without abandoning our principles. Not everyone sees eye to eye
in Lebanon but we are trying to navigate a safe course for Lebanon by
taking into account the many facts he cannot change while maintaining
the principles and goals he has while keeping in mind both his goals and
the interests of the country.
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 Chairman of
Pharaon Holding and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Chairman, Michel Pharaon
We already have the laws we need for the private
sector . The business sector is doing not so bad. Of course the
ambition
that Lebanon would be the financial center for the Middle East is not
an ambition we can really have anymore. In the Gulf they have progress
that we perhaps could not achieve due to the war. We have a lot of
points we’re very well advanced in. One is the financial sector .
Almost
20% of the economy, which is the transfer of Lebanese is a very
important sector.
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Lebanon Political Situation, Minister of Information of Lebanon, Tarek Mitri
This is the second cabinet that consists of 30 ministers that do
represent all the religious communities in Lebanon. But the novelty is
that we have had two consecutive national unity governments; governments
that have the widest possible political representation. We are
government that seeks consensus which brings stability.
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 Lebanon Tourism, Ministry of Tourism,
Minister of Tourism, Fadi Abboud
On average countries see a 5-6% growth but Lebanon tourism is doing quite well as
reflected by the growth in Lebanon tourism sector. Lebanon has things to offer in this region
that others cannot. For example, quality of service, geography,
nightlife, cuisine, the beach, snow, ecotourism, religious tourism, and
price. All of these factors help us succeed in tourism in Lebanon and enhance our
growth to being the best in the world. For 2010 we should see an
increase of around 25% in Lebanon tourism sector.
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Most Viewed |
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Only 4% of companies in this competitive world celebrate their 100 Anniversary… The Chammas Group of Companies is proudly one of them. 
Qatar’s economy is delivering an impressive buoyant performance in the
midst of sluggish global conditions. According to IMF forecasts for
2010, real GDP growth is projected at 18.5%
