Inflation in Lebanon soared an annual 215 per cent in February as the country's economic meltdown worsens and talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package continue.
This is the 20th consecutive triple-digit increase of the Central Administration of Statistics' Consumer Price Index since July 2020. The index increased 4.31 per cent from January 2022. Although inflation has spiked, it is still far from the peak of 741 per cent reached at the end of 1987 during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.
The surge in inflation is due "in part to the inability of the authorities to monitor and contain retail prices, as well as to the deterioration of the Lebanese pound's exchange rate on the parallel market and the gradual lifting of subsidies on hydrocarbons, which have encouraged opportunistic wholesalers and retailers to raise the prices of consumer goods disproportionately", Byblos Bank said in a note.
Lebanon's economy collapsed after it defaulted on about $31 billion of eurobonds in March 2020, with its currency sinking more than 90 per cent against the dollar on the black market.
Inflation has since surged while public debt, already a major overhang, continued to rise and reached $100bn, or about 212 per cent of gross domestic product, in 2021. That ranks Lebanon as the country with the fourth highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world, surpassed only by Japan, Sudan and Greece, according to the World Bank.
"As a major wheat importer these pressures will now ease more slowly than had been hoped," said Shady Elborno, head of macro strategy at Emirates NBD.
The government has asked the US and other donors to help build up wheat reserves for the country due to supply disruptions from the war in Ukraine, a task made more complicated by the destruction of crucial silos in the 2020 Beirut port blast, which claimed more than 200 lives and caused at least $5bn in damages.
Transportation costs increased 510 per cent in February 2022, compared to the same month last year, followed by restaurants and hotels, which surged 449 per cent. The health segment soared 413 per cent, food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 396 per cent, while the cost of water, electricity, gas and other fuels swelled by 372 per cent.
Lebanon's economy contracted 25 per cent in 2020 and 6.7 per cent in 2019. The International Monetary Fund did not provide projections in its World Economic Outlook for Lebanon for last year, given the fluid situation in the country.
IMF talks with Lebanese officials are ongoing and the fund's staff are expected to visit the country to resume discussions this month, its spokesman Gerry Rice said last week.
Lebanon needs to carry out various reforms and measures, including restructuring its banking sector and reducing the large public debt overhang, to secure financial assistance from the fund and unlock billions of dollars of aid from donor countries and institutions.
"We remain closely engaged, of course, we are trying to work with the Lebanese authorities to formulate a reform programme that can address the severe economic financial challenges Lebanon is facing," Mr Rice said.
"I would say the discussions are progressing well. But extensive work is needed in the period ahead. Lebanon's challenges are deep and complex, they will require time and a commitment."
Lebanon applied for a potential $10bn IMF bailout package in May 2020. However, talks with the lender stalled due to internal bickering among the various political factions in the country and a lack of consensus on the size of the debt and losses on the balance sheet of the central bank.
Lebanon’s economic crisis is expected to rank among the world’s top 10 crises – possibly even the top three – since the mid-19th century, according to the World Bank.
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
On racial profiling at airports
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The%20Specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
