Lebanon is located in the middle of three continents Europe, Asia, and Africa, it is where East and West meet.
This country with 4.6 million population, $ 52.8 B GDP and one per cent GDP Growth in 2016,controls numerous large commercial operations. Inflation in Lebanon was negative in 2015 and 2016. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 report, starting a new business in Lebanon is relatively simple and it takes entrepreneurs only nine days. The top export of Lebanon are gold, jewelry, diamonds, scrap iron and scarp copper. Its top imports are refined petroleum, cars, packaged medicaments and other steel bars. The top export destinations of Lebanon are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, South Africa and Iraq.
The top import origins are China, Italy, France, the United States and Germany.

Why to invest in Lebanon?

From the meeting organized by Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza e Brianza in cooperation with ITA (Italian Trade Agency), Consulate General of Lebanon and Promos-Camera di Commercio di Milano called “Opportunities of economic-commercial cooperation and presentation of promotional activities ICE-Agenzia” (Milano, 11 ottobre 2016) held with the participation of the Lebanon General Consul, Walid Haidar, the Director of Strategical Areas of Promos, Federico Bega, Marinella Loddo director of Ufficio Milano ITA and the next Head Office ITA Beirut, Francesca Zadro recent data show that Lebanon offers investors lots of opportunities in all sectors of economy, especially in tourism, agriculture, and energy. Furthermore, Lebanon represents a point of entry to a large regional market.

-With a free foreign exchange market, full currency convertibility policies, and no restrictions on the inward or outward movement of capital, Lebanon has an ideal banking structure for conducting business in the MENA (Middle East and Nord Africa) region;

-Liberal investment policies, free enterprise and private initiative are the important keys of the Lebanese economy;

-Lebanon’s workforce is well educated and multi-talented. Skilled labor is widely available, yet at moderate fees;

-Lebanon’s infrastructure is quickly becoming one of the best in the region with expanding port facilities, and an ambitious road rehabilitation program.

Market opportunity

Major projects exist in transportation, electricity, telecommunications, education, solid and water waste that was listed by The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) that is the Lebanese government’s executive body responsible for tendering major projects, procuring financing for these projects, and supervising their execution.

-Agriculture

Lebanon’s moderate climate, rich soil, and abundant water resources is an ideal location for agricultural activity. The country is also the one with major rivers and water resources unique in the Middle East.

-Agro Industry

The Agro-Industrial sector is a big contributor to the Lebanese economy. Agro-food enterprises account for the largest share of industrial establishments in Lebanon, with 18.2% of enterprises. Agro-food products accounted for 20.7% of total exports in 2015 and for 36.5% of total industrial exports in 2015.
Key exported agro-food products include Sugars & Sugar Confectionary at 37.4% of total agro-food exports, Beverages, Spirits & Vinegar occupy the second largest share at 22.4%, followed by Prepared Vegetables, Fruits, and Nuts at 14.8%. The largest share of agro-food exports is destined to Arab countries (non-GCC countries), which grasped 55.1% of total share in 2015. Availability of a cheap and skilled labor force, Presence of backward linkages with a solid and diversified agricultural sector, Institutional support from the government and Presence of an internationally recognized Lebanese cuisine are great advantages for Lebanon.

-Information Technology

The Lebanese Information Technology (ICT) sector is a fast growing sector with a market size of USD 436.2 million in 2016, and projected to reach USD 543.5 million by 2019. The market has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2014 and 2016, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2016 to 2019. The positive performance of this sector has benefited from massive investments in the telecom infrastructure, broadband capacity and speed.
Highly skilled and multi-lingual labor force, Competitive salary base, booming regional market for IT services, a thriving business environment and Increasing financial support to the sector are the strong points of Lebanon on information technology.

-Tourism

The Tourism sector has always been one of Lebanon’s leading economic sectors, representing a major source of income and employment. The World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest report ranked Lebanon 30th worldwide in terms of travel and tourism’s total contribution to GDP, which stood at 22.1% in 2015 (around USD 9.9 billion), exceeding by far the world’s 9.8% average. Tourism is one of the fastest growing sector in Lebanon, with an average of 9% annual growth over the last 3 years. Tourist arrivals reached at 1.51 million in 2015.

Italy and Lebanon

Italian exports to the Lebanon from January to June 2016 were € 595,14 million. Italy with exports of 1.28 billion dollars is placed in second position after China between the main Lebanese suppliers and after Italy there are Germany, France, United State, Russia, Greece, Turkey and England.
Italy exported to Lebanon products like Oil (28,6%), machinery (14%), chemical products (11,5%), clothing (6,4%), the base material of Metal (5,6%), preserved food (4,6%) and bricks (4%). In the same period, Italian imports from Lebanon were about 44 million dollars.

Fonte: a cura di Exportiamo, di Morvarid Mahmoodabadi, redazione@exportiamo.it

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