Lebanon

On the 35th anniversary of the 1983 Marine barracks attack that killed 241 American servicemen, US President Donald Trump...

Ratings agency S&P blames “ongoing political uncertainty” for the Lebanese central bank’s “unusual and unsustainable financing engineering.” In a...

Lebanon is pushing forward with its second offshore bid round having closed the first one last October. Awards are slated for end-2019, but delays are likely.

Lebanon power generation is costly, dirty and wasteful, and comes nowhere near meeting demand for electricity. Modest investment would be huge, but the country’s political class has proven even less efficient than its power sector.

Exxon had precisely zero upstream interest in the Mediterranean and North Africa as recently as 2016. It last year bagged key deepwater exploration blocks off Cyprus and Mauritania; a Crete award looks imminent and it is eying Algeria and Egypt.

Remittances are a crucial lifeline to the region’s cash-strapped oil importing economies.

Between post-election deliberations, fresh US sanctions on Hizbollah and Iran-Israel tensions at a boiling point, geopolitical talk rules in Lebanon today. But behind the scenes, the central bank is maneuvering to avoid a debt crisis.

Trump’s decision to leave the nuclear deal has wreaked uncertainty across global markets. On the Syria front, it could push Israel and Iran into direct confrontation.

Despite zero wells drilled, officials are already eying gas-fueled riches. Output would spell an end to power cuts, but could also give officials an excuse to delay reform.

Lebanon has secured grants and loans worth $11.5bn for redeveloping its disheveled infrastructure. But a lack of financing is far from the republic’s biggest concern.

With the world’s third highest debt-to-GDP ratio and annual growth averaging just 1.7% since 2011, the Lebanese economy needs crucial assistance. Saad Hariri’s government aims to cut this year’s deficit and upcoming donor conferences may help. But can efforts overcome the structural issues impairing prosperity?

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Riyadh in early March, signaling an effort to improve ties after the kingdom’s...