ECONOMY
p.2 Public debt at US$ 42.9 billion at end-February 2008
Figures released by the Ministry of Finance indicate that by the end of February 2008, gross public debt reached LP 64,643 billion, or US$ 42.9 billion, up by 2.0% from the end-2007 level.

Also in this issue:
p.2 Fiscal deficit accounts for 24.8% of overall expenditures in the first two months of 2008
p.3 Capital inflows up by a yearly 76.8% in the first two months of 2008
p.3 59% of total Paris III commitments signed as at end-March 2008

SURVEYS
p.4 IMF projects for Lebanon a 3% real growth rate in 2008 and 4.5% in 2009
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released this week the first issue of its bi-annual publication the World Economic Outlook (WEO), which includes economic forecasts for Lebanon.

CORPORATE NEWS
p.5 BLC Bank posts US$ 14.9 million in 2007 net profits
BLC Bank announced consolidated net profits of US$ 14.9 million in 2007, up by 22.5% from US$ 12.2 million in 2006.

Also in this issue:
p.5 Libano-Arabe�s net profits up by 21.6% to US$ 6.7 million in 2007
p.5 BLOM Bank to distribute dividends for year 2007 activity
p.5 AROPE Insurance licensed to establish life and non-life insurance companies in Egypt

MARKETS IN BRIEF
p.6 Slowdown in activity on the equity market and persisting appetite for Eurobonds
The continuous local political bickering and the ongoing absence of any consensus on the Presidential election led to a slowdown in activity on the equity market this week, while the Eurobond market still witnessed persisting local and foreign interest driven by the Lebanese yield�s attractiveness after the recent cut in US interest rates. In details, the total trading value amounted to US$ 11 million this week, versus US$ 21 million last week. The trading volume index fell by 45%, while the price index barely moved up by 0.2% to 156.40. At the level of the Eurobond market, prices rose while the average spread stood at 590 basis points due to a decline in both Lebanese yields and benchmark yields. On the foreign exchange market, the US Dollar continued to be on offer this week, pursuing the same trend that prevailed since the beginning of the year 2008. Subsequently, the Central Bank intervened as a buyer of the green currency surpluses at LP 1,512.5, while commercial banks traded the US Dollar at a rate hovering between LP 1,512.5 and LP 1,513.5. Within this context, it is worth highlighting that the Central Bank enjoys a comfortable level of foreign assets that reached US$ 13.4 billion at end-March 2008, which underlines the Bank�s ability to maintain stable monetary situation and to face upcoming challenges.

tags: economic report, lebanon, beirut, lebanese, week 15, april 2008, bank audi, finance, weekly report

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