People walking on the Corniche in Beirut. (Credit: Stephanie Bechara)
-Nearly 200 Lebanese depositors attacked banks in the Dora district of northern Beirut during a protest organized by the Depositors’ Outcry group last Thursday, demanding “that their stolen savings be returned to them.”
This series of acts of vandalism comes on the heels of a sit-in planned for downtown Beirut in the morning, and almost two years after a series of bank break-ins by depositors seeking access to their own funds hit the headlines.
Around 50 angry depositors first attacked Banque Libano-française, Arab Bank, BBAC, Federal Bank (whose branch is closed in this district) and Banque des Emirats et du Liban, before heading towards the Dora traffic circle to attack a branch of Bank of Beirut. However, they were stopped in their tracks by army and security forces. Other stores were also targeted by the demonstrators, including the Lebanese Swiss Bank.
-Electricité du Liban (EDL) began offloading the first of three fuel shipments on Friday, following a slight delay. These shipments were expected by the end of September to boost electricity production, which had reached critically low levels due to a lack of resupply.
The shipment in question consisted of 30,000 tons of Egyptian diesel purchased on the spot market by the Lebanese government and transported by tanker Chem Helen. This shipment does not include the fuel donated by Algeria, which also arrived this week.
-Brands For Less (BFL Group), a Lebanese-owned off-price retailer in the MENA region, has announced it is selling a 35 percent stake to U.S.-based The TJX Companies, Inc. for $360 million. The transaction values BFL Group at $1.2 billion, according to a statement issued by the group on Aug. 22.
-The Consumer Price Index (CPI), calculated monthly by the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), rose by 1.97 percent in July on a monthly basis and 35.37 percent on an annual basis. While annual inflation remains high, it is however significantly lower than the 41.78 percent recorded in June. This trend is expected to continue into next month, as the value of the lira remains stable, hovering around LL 89,700 to the dollar since August 2023.
-Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad signed an agreement for Lebanon to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), with the Indian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Noor Rahman Sheikh, in attendance, according to Fayad’s press office.
Fayad described the agreement with the ISA as “a turning point in Lebanon’s journey toward achieving energy sustainability." He also noted that it "would open doors for cooperation with member countries, allowing Lebanon to benefit from international expertise and financial resources to support its solar energy projects.”
-Lebanon's caretaker finance minister, Youssef Khalil, announced in a statement on Friday that he had submitted the preliminary draft state budget for 2025 to the government on time, for review and amendment before sending it in turn to Parliament for a vote before the end of the year.
“For the second year running, the Minister ... has submitted the General Budget Bill for the year 2025 to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers within the constitutional deadlines set in accordance with Article 17 of the Public Accounting Act,” which requires him to do so by Sept. 1 of the year preceding that in which the budget is to be executed.
-The prices of gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil to power electric generators are still on the decline, while the price of domestic gas cylinders has remained stable, according to the latest prices published by the Energy and Water Ministry.
Here are the new prices:
Analysis of the week
Every bank restructuring and deposit restitution plan over the past four years was rejected mainly by bankers. The latest draft government plan has been under discussion and implies that banks would be required to repay less than $9 billion in cash over 11 years. Read Mounir Younes’ piece:
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles