Search
Search

ECONOMY

Emirati billionaire Habtoor says new investments in Lebanon 'as soon as cabinet is formed'

“This project carries a vision that could enable economic revival and create thousands of jobs,” the Emirati businessman promises.

Emirati billionaire Habtoor says new investments in Lebanon 'as soon as cabinet is formed'

View of the Hilton Habtoor Hotel, renamed Al Habtoor Grand, in Beirut. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)

BEIRUT Emirati businessman Khalaf al-Habtoor, who owns, among other things, two hotels in Beirut, announced Thursday in a post on X that he will be making new investments in Lebanon as soon as a new Cabinet is established.

“As a lover of Lebanon ... I am happy to announce my intention to invest in a large project as soon as the government is formed. This project carries a vision that could enable economic revival and create thousands of jobs,” he wrote.

Habtoor said a level of stability is required in order to ensure the investment and that Joseph Aoun election as president and Nawaf Salam's appointment as prime minister are signs that "Lebanon is heading toward stability."

Habtoor, who Forbes has listed at 335th among the world's wealthiest individuals with a net worth of $2.3 billion, wrote that any investment he makes in Lebanon "will mainly depend on the correct establishment of this government."

"The next government must not include ... those who have led Lebanon to its downfall, the economic crisis, and who have declared wars,” he wrote.

The amusement park Habtoor Land, in Jamhour, on January 23, 2025. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)

Known for his hostile positions towards Hezbollah, the Emirati billionaire had given up last June on launching a television channel in Lebanon, citing “security risks,” and did not provide further details.

One of his hotels, where several foreign media outlets occupied rooms converted into offices during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, temporarily closed its doors in 2024, after rumors about a channel close to Hezbollah seeking a room there. The hotel reopened in early November.

Read more

Reconstruction in Lebanon: Centering the state is crucial, experts warn

In an interview with the news site Arab News a week ago, Habtoor indicated that he planned to renovate Habtoor Land, an amusement park he opened in the early 2000s in Jamhour, in Baabda district, and has abandoned since, as well as the Habtoor mall, located near his hotel in Beirut, which had closed at the onset of the economic crisis in 2019.

BEIRUT — Emirati businessman Khalaf al-Habtoor, who owns, among other things, two hotels in Beirut, announced Thursday in a post on X that he will be making new investments in Lebanon as soon as a new Cabinet is established. “As a lover of Lebanon ... I am happy to announce my intention to invest in a large project as soon as the government is formed. This project carries a vision that could...