Lebanese MPs warn Hezbollah over US sanctions

Details

by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI -- BEIRUT: Political forces in Lebanon have renewed pressure on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah to reform or face the US imposition of the Caesar Act, which could prove catastrophic for the country. Lebanese political circles are abuzz with debate over Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria and the likelihood of the imposition of the Caesar Act, which calls for biting sanctions on the Assad regime and its supporters. Mouaz Mustafa, who is a member of the Caesar Act team, recently said that prominent political figures in Lebanon were likely to be targeted alongside Hezbollah because the goal of the sanctions was to reach all people who had any kind of agreements with the Syrian regime. Lebanese politicians are not taking this matter lightly as is evident from their statements calling for an end to smuggling along the Syria-Lebanon border and for Hezbollah to be disarmed.

Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), recently blamed “de facto forces” for the illegal smuggling along the borders in an apparent dig at the powerful military outfit. It is known that Hezbollah has long been involved in the war in Syria and maintains military bases and training centers inside Syrian territories near the border with Lebanon. Diesel and flour smuggling is carried out through illegal crossings from Lebanon to Syria. In a strongly worded message, FPM MP Ziad Aswad said: “We cannot go on holding weapons while our people are hungry.” Aswad warned Hezbollah that “the price of its weapons is paid by all Lebanese.” The most obvious position on American messages reaching Lebanese parties came through the admission of Aswad that “the Americans’ decision is necessary to disarm the (Hezbollah) party, or else manage yourself, Lebanese.”

Read more ...

Anghami: 'Middle East Spotify' drawn into Lebanese political controversy

Details

by thenational.ae -- Sunniva Rose -- An employee at the Middle East’s leading music streaming service, whose tweet landed the company in the middle of a political dispute, denies she was spreading rumours of the Lebanese president’s ill-health. There were calls for a boycott of Anghami, the Middle East’s answer to Spotify with more than 55 million users, after its editorial lead Christine Habib tweeted in Arabic on Monday: “We will not pay you the last honours. You killed all of us before dying." Ms Habib did not name Lebanese President Michel Aoun, 85, but sparked an angry response from his supporters on social media under the hashtag #boycottAnghami. As anger grew, a movement took to social media to express support for the company and Ms Habib. A former reporter with local television network Al Jadeed, Ms Habib told The National that she had not insulted Mr Aoun. “Maybe the timing was a bit wrong but the tweet could have been about any other leader or even the country," she said. "I have previous tweets saying , ‘Rest in peace, Lebanon’.”

Ms Habib said her tweet was in reference to the country's severe social and economic crisis caused by decades of mismanagement and corruption. Lebanon's currency in is near-freefall, unemployment is rising rapidly and living standards are deteriorating. Mr Aoun’s office has denied claims in local media about the president’s ill health, writing on Twitter that “appropriate legal measures” would be taken against “those who promote malicious rumours". “Today, because of a tweet that's not endorsed by our company from a personal account, I read calls to fire an employee and boycott Anghami," Mr Habib said. "In contrast, others warn of retaliation with counter boycotts if the employee is fired. That's our sad Lebanon life.

“As a country, we've suffered through wars, revolutions, assassinations, economic downturns, famine, ongoing banking crisis, inflation, devaluation and distress. "Moreover, most of us believe that we're heading to worse times. And all that we've learnt is that we should continue to attack each other. “What if instead of attacking each other we can make a chain to lift each other? We're all drowning together. "Wake up, everyone. Lebanon needs all of us." Anghami is widely regarded as one of Lebanon’s most successful start-ups and while the company says it is registered in the Cayman Islands, it is headquarters are in Beirut and offices in Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh. Bloomberg reported in January that it was considering a sale that could value it at $400 million (Dh1.46 billion).

Read more ...

Saudi Arabia and SoftBank: How MBS's $35bn gamble on future tech backfired

Details

by middleeasteye.net -- By Paul Cochrane -- When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was brought under the direct control of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2015, and the fund’s programme was announced in 2017, it was under a mandate to invest at home and abroad to be a financial enabler of the kingdom's economic diversification efforts. One of its earliest and biggest splashes was in Tokyo-based SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund, which invested in high-profile technology companies and, in keeping with its name, aimed to bankroll futuristic developments in artificial intelligence, robotics and gene-sequencing. Saudi Arabia, along with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, contributed almost two-thirds of the fund’s capital, with PIF investing some $35bn.

The investment with the Japanese conglomerate seemed a perfect match for the kingdom’s Vision 2030, outlined in 2016, with SoftBank making a commitment to enable diversification efforts through involvement in technology, renewable energy and in MBS’s $500bn Neom mega-city project on the Red Sea coast. SoftBank’s links to Saudi and MBS, by then the kingdom’s crown prince, came under scrutiny in October 2018 following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but it largely managed to ride out the negative publicity. Just a year ago, the media gushed about SoftBank being a major disruptor on the start-up and venture capital tech scene, while a second Vision Fund was announced. Riyadh was initially keen on getting involved but backed away last year as problems emerged with the first fund, according to Rory Fyfe, managing director of Mena Advisors, a regional research and consultancy company in London.

Read more ...

Renault and Nissan are desperate for help. The alliance Carlos Ghosn built could be their only hope

Details

London (CNN Business)The coronavirus pandemic may be forcing Renault and Nissan to rethink their strained relationship. Already under huge pressure from slumping sales and profits in 2019, the collapse in global car demand this year could push the French and Japanese companies much closer together to cut costs and share the burden of building a new generation of electric vehicles. The carmakers have been partners since 1999, cooperating on strategy and product development while never taking the plunge and completing a full merger. Together with junior partner Mitsubishi Motors, the unique industry alliance employs roughly 450,000 people and in 2018 it sold roughly one in every nine cars around the world. Yet the partnership began its third decade in turmoil. The 2018 arrest of former alliance boss Carlos Ghosn, a turnaround expert credited with keeping Renault and Nissan in business, sparked a series of leadership changes at both carmakers, confusion over their strategy and questions over whether the sputtering relationship had outlived its usefulness.

Renault participated in merger talks with a European rival, and there were major questions over how the alliance would revive its fortunes in North America, where Nissan is a significant player but its French counterpart is not. Analysts also raised questions about cultural differences at the companies. The companies have so far largely maintained separate manufacturing facilities. Sharing production at the plant in Sunderland could be a sign that the carmakers have set aside their differences and are responding to the crisis by helping each other to cut costs. Ghosn, who was arrested on charges of understating his income, has always denied charges of financial impropriety. He had hoped to bring the companies much closer together, and he has blamed his arrest on a Nissan conspiracy aimed at preventing further integration with Renault. Nissan disputes this narrative.

Read more ...

Lebanese may turn to Bitcoin to protect themselves from the effects of the country’s economic crisis

Details

by blocksats.com -- According to a poll widely published on Twitter, more than half of the 6,661 voters would choose to receive their salary in Bitcoin. Although they prefer to receive dollar bills, they are not interested in receiving the money in their own fiat currency, which has collapsed against the US currency. In 2020, economic turmoil and distrust in banks that increased during the coronavirus caused people to adopt the world’s main digital asset.

Unprecedented economic collapse The result makes sense, given that Lebanon is facing an unprecedented economic collapse, where prices for basic goods have doubled in at least the past two months, leaving them out of reach of half the population. Prime Minister Hassan Diab also acknowledged that Lebanon is on the verge of an “unimaginable food crisis”. Its long-standing currency continues to fall and is still being used to pay for imports. The crisis is likely to hit the impoverished communities more strongly and put more pressure on the middle class, widening the gap between the elite and the rest. The banking system in the country is also destabilized, with protests over central banks and bank branches increasing.

Read more ...

Solidere makes a comeback to profitability despite crisis

Details

By Osama Habib, The Daily Star Beirut - The real estate giant Solidere made a comeback to profitability after selling close to $500 million in properties over the past two years, allowing it to settle all its debts, the company's vice president Ghazi Youssef said Friday. “We did relatively well despite the crisis that engulfed Lebanon. We sold around $450 million to $500 million worth of land in the Downtown district in the past two years. We had debts of around $600 million in the past and now I can say we are no longer in the red,” Youssef told The Daily Star over the telephone. Youssef expressed his belief that many Lebanese have chosen to invest their money in real estate. “There is around $5 billion in cash in the market and it seems some [people] have preferred to buy land in Solidere because they think it’s a sound investment,” he added.

Solidere has been struggling with the acute political and financial crisis that struck Lebanon in recent years. The company implemented a restructuring plan to cut costs last year. However, rigid capitals control imposed by the banks since late last year, coupled with the sharp devaluation of the Lebanese pound, drove many investors and bank customers to search for a safer investment, especially since most of them could not transfer money abroad or carry out financial transactions with other countries.

Read more ...