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Lebanon This Week 540

June 09, 2018
Lebanon This Week 540

  • Lebanon's piracy rate at 69% in 2017, 37th highest globally and sixth highest among Arab countries
    The U.S.-based Business Software Alliance, an industry group representing the world's leading computer software developers, estimated the software piracy rate in Lebanon at 69% in 2017 compared to 70% in 2015, 71% in each of 2011 and 2013, and 72% in 2009. As such, Lebanon had the 37th highest piracy level among 111 countries worldwide and the sixth highest among 15 Arab countries included in the survey. Also, Lebanon had the 14th highest piracy rate among 34 upper middle-income countries (UMICs) included in the survey. The survey covers operating systems, business applications, systems software such as databases and security packages, and consumer applications such as games, personal finance and reference software.   

    Globally, Lebanon's software piracy rate was higher than rates in Ecuador (68%) and in Argentina and Uruguay (67% each), and lower than rates in Vietnam (74%), Tunisia (73%) and Panama (71%). Lebanon's software piracy rate was significantly higher than the global rate of 37% and the Middle East & Africa rate of 56%. Libya had the highest piracy rate in the world at 90%, while the United States had the lowest rate globally at 15% in 2017. Piracy rates among Arab countries increased in Yemen between 2015 and 2017, while they regressed in 11 economies and were unchanged in Iraq, Libya and Oman.

    In parallel, software piracy-related losses in Lebanon totaled $61m in 2017, down from $65m in each of 2013 and 2015, and compared to losses of $52m in 2011 and $46m in 2009. As such, Lebanon posted the 71st highest piracy-related dollar losses worldwide, the 24th highest losses among UMICs and the ninth highest losses among Arab countries. Globally, Lebanon's piracy-related dollar losses were similar to those in El Salvador, and came higher than those in Belarus ($59m), Oman ($56m) and Morocco ($52m), and lower than losses in Egypt ($64m), and in Kazakhstan and New Zealand ($62m each). Lebanon's piracy-related dollar losses accounted for 0.1% of global losses, for 0.4% of UMICs' losses, for 2% of losses in the Middle East & Africa region and for 4.7% of total piracy-related losses in Arab countries. Also, Lebanon's piracy-related dollar losses stood at 0.12% of GDP in 2017, relative to 0.13% of GDP in each of 2009, 2011 and 2015, and to 0.14% of GDP in 2013.
     

  • Foreign direct investment at $2.6bn in 2017, equivalent to 5% of GDP
    Figures released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) show that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Lebanon totaled $2.63bn in 2017, constituting a marginal increase of 0.7% from $2.61bn in 2016 and representing the third annual rise since 2010. FDI inflows in 2017 were 10.2% below the annual average flows of $2.93bn during the 2010-16 period and came 40% lower than the peak of $4.38bn posted in 2009. Also, Lebanon was the fourth largest recipient of FDI among 18 Arab countries and the third largest recipient among 12 countries in West Asia in 2017. It was also the 60th largest FDI recipient globally among 136 economies with a nominal GDP of $10bn or more, and when excluding tax haven islands.

    The UNCTAD figures for Lebanon are based on the official figures issued by Banque du Liban. According to BdL’s methodology, the sources of FDI figures in Lebanon consist of public sector data, various indicators that estimate non-resident real estate investments, banking sector statistics, as well as statistics from administrative records on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. 

    FDI inflows to Lebanon accounted for 9.3% of total FDI in Arab countries in 2017, up from a share of 8.1% in 2016. They also represented 10.3% of total flows to West Asia, 0.4% of FDI inflows to developing economies and 0.2% of global FDI in 2017. Further, FDI inflows to Lebanon were equivalent to 5.1% of GDP in 2017, down from 5.3% of GDP in 2016 and compared to a peak of 15.5% of GDP in 2005. They were the third highest in the Arab world in 2017, behind Djibouti (8.1% of GDP) and Mauritania (6.4% of GDP). Also, FDI inflows to Lebanon as a percentage of GDP were the 28th highest in 2017 among countries with a nominal GDP of $10bn or more and when excluding tax haven islands. 

    In parallel, FDI outflows from Lebanon totaled $567.3m in 2017, constituting a decrease of 11.6% from $642m in 2016, and compared to the annual average of $998.4m during the 2010-16 period and to a peak of $2bn registered in 2013. Lebanon was the sixth largest source of FDI outflows among 16 Arab countries with available figures and among West Asian countries in 2017. Further, net FDI flows to Lebanon reached $2.1bn in 2017, the second highest level in the Arab world, up by 4.7% from net FDI flows of $2bn in 2016 and relative to a peak of $3.25bn in 2009.
     

  • Opened letters of credit at $1.4bn for imports and $765m for exports in first quarter of 2018
    Figures released by Banque du Liban indicate that the value of letters of credit (LCs) opened to finance imports to Lebanon totaled $1.4bn in the first quarter of 2018, down by 23% from $1.8bn in the first quarter of 2017. Further, utilized credits for imports reached $1.3bn in the covered quarter, down by 36.1% from $2.1bn in the same quarter last year. They accounted for 94% of opened LCs in the first quarter of 2018. Also, outstanding import credits stood at $1.03bn at the end of March 2018 compared to $1.2bn at end-March 2017. In addition, the aggregate value of inward bills for collection reached $250.3m in the first quarter of 2018, constituting a drop of 53.6% from $539.8m in the first quarter of 2017. The outstanding value of inward bills for collection reached $59m at the end of March 2018 relative to $74.8m at end-March 2017.

    In parallel, the value of documentary LCs opened to finance exports from Lebanon totaled $765m in the first quarter of 2018, constituting a decrease of 30.8% from $1.1bn in the first quarter of 2017. Further, utilized credits for exports reached $721.3m in the covered quarter, down by 17.3% from $872m of used credits in the same quarter last year. Also, outstanding export credits stood at $872m at the end of March 2018 compared to $933m at end-March 2017. The aggregate value of outward bills for collection amounted to $387.1m in the first quarter of 2018, constituting an increase of 7.1% from $361.5m in the same quarter of 2017. The outstanding value of outward bills for collection reached $415.3m at the end of March 2018 relative to $478.4m at end-March 2017.
     

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