UAE-based businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor is cancelling all planned investments in Lebanon, a few days after he announced his intention to invest in a large-scale project there.
The chairman of UAE-based conglomerate Al Habtoor Group took the decision “due to lack of security and stability and the lack of any horizon for improvement in the near future”, in Lebanon, Mr Al Habtoor said on social media platform X on Tuesday.
He also plans to sell all his properties and investments in Lebanon. Mr Al Habtoor also said along with his family and his group's managers, he would refrain from travelling there.
“These decisions were not taken in a vacuum, but rather came as a result of careful study and in-depth monitoring of the situation there,” he said.
As of January last year, the Habtoor Group's investments in Lebanon amounted to about $1 billion. These investments covered various sectors, including funds placed within the Lebanese banking system, luxury hotels affiliated with Hilton Hotels and Resorts, a shopping mall, a 100,000-square-metre leisure destination called Habtoor Land and other property ventures.
Mr Al Habtoor's latest remarks come after he had said on Friday that he would invest in a “large and ambitious” project in Lebanon once the new government is formed.
The initiative “has a vision to contribute to the economic renaissance and provide thousands of jobs, to be a real addition to support the Lebanese economy and restore confidence in it”, he said. He did, however, stress at the time that any new investment will depend on the right formation of the government.
This month, Lebanon’s Parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as President − ending a power vacuum since 2022. Mr Aoun nominated Nawaf Salam as the new prime minister and entrusted him with the responsibility to form a new government. Both men are seen as being apart from Lebanon's entrenched ruling classes, who are accused of mismanaging the country. Neither candidate was favoured by Hezbollah, which previously dominated Lebanese politics.
Lebanon's economy struggled after the government 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.
The conflict with Israel last year led to a further deterioration of its economy, with physical damages and economic losses due to the conflict estimated at $8.5 billion, according to a World Bank report in November.
On Monday, the Lebanese government confirmed it had agreed to a three-week extension of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, after consultations with the US. The two sides reached an initial agreement to end hostilities in November.
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The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
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Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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