Lebanon’s new government lifts petrol price, signs audit deal

Lebanese riot police stand guard in front the central bank building, where anti-government demonstrators protest against the Lebanese central bank's governor Riad Salameh and the deepening financial crisis, in Beirut. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 17 September 2021
Follow

Lebanon’s new government lifts petrol price, signs audit deal

  • The audit is a key requirement for Lebanon to secure foreign aid
  • Fuel prices issued on Friday raised the gasoline price by more than 37 percent

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new government raised gasoline prices on Friday, cutting a subsidy that Prime Minister Najib Mikati termed unaffordable as he advances plans to address a devastating financial crisis.

The government also signed a new contract with restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal to carry out a forensic audit of the central bank.

Fuel prices issued on Friday raised the gasoline price by more than 37 percent with immediate effect.

The price of a 20-liter canister of unleaded 98-octane gasoline now ranges between 174,000 and 180,000 Lebanese pounds ($13). On the black market, 20 liters are sold for 600,000 Lebanese pounds.

The Ministry of Energy issued on Friday a price list for liquid fuels based on the exchange rate of the central bank’s Sayrafa platform.

This means that Lebanon has entered the last stage before lifting subsidies on gasoline after the subsidy on diesel was completely lifted.

The exchange rate on Sayrafa is 12,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, while the black market rate dropped to 13,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on Friday morning. It began picking up again in the afternoon, reaching 14,200 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.

Queues at gas stations were especially long over the past 24 hours, with the postponement of the pricing process delaying the opening of hundreds of gas stations.

“The liberalization of gasoline imports means that the process has become purely technical; companies import and secure goods for the country as they did many years ago. The central bank no longer has anything to do with the issue of securing dollars,” said Georges Fayyad, who heads the Association of Petroleum Importing Companies in Lebanon.

This measure came the day after the first shipment of Iraqi fuel arrived in Lebanon. The 32,000 ton-shipment is being unloaded in the tanks of Electricité du Liban, and the second shipment of grade B fuel will arrive next week.

A source in the EDL said: “The EDL is expected to be able to increase the power supply by about four hours,” bearing in mind that households only get one or two hours of EDL power a day.

Owners of private generators practice harsh rationing on subscribers due to the scarcity of diesel. Bills have doubled: Five amps per month costs over 1.5 million Lebanese pounds, more than double the minimum wage.

Eighty Syrian tankers loaded with Iranian diesel entered Lebanon through Hezbollah’s illegal crossings with Syria this week, evading state control and violating state sovereignty.

Druze leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, sarcastically tweeted: “We no longer know where the convoys of diesel, gasoline and oil come from. We now have so many enthusiasts that we may become an oil-exporting country without demarcation of borders or exploration.”

George Brax, a member of the gas station owners’ syndicate, said: “The Iraqi fuel will contribute to reducing the demand for diesel to generate electricity, and lifting the subsidy will reduce demand on the black market. As for Iranian diesel, it contributes to alleviating the crisis, but it is only temporary since Hezbollah cannot continue importing fuel into Lebanon.”

The government signed a new contract with A&M to carry out a forensic audit of the central bank, a step sought by donors who want to see Beirut enact reforms to unlock badly needed aid.

Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, formerly a senior central bank official, signed the contract with A&M, which the ministry said would present an initial report within 12 weeks of its team starting work.

A&M withdrew from the audit last November, saying it had not received the information it required. The Finance Ministry said in April the central bank had agreed to hand over required documents.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced that a public session would be held on Sept. 20 to discuss the ministerial statement of Najib Mikati’s government and pass a vote of confidence.

In a statement, Mikati’s government stressed that it is “committed to resuming talks with the International Monetary Fund based on priorities and what the national interest requires.”

It also noted that it wants to implement “reforms in the banking sector and restructure it as necessary.”

The IMF talks were stalled last year when politicians and bankers questioned the extent of financial losses identified in the financial recovery plan put in place by the government at the time.

The EU is threatening Mikati’s government with sanctions until it fulfills the promises made to implement the reforms required by the IMF and the international community.


Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer killed in Syria, SNN reports

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer killed in Syria, SNN reports

DUBAI: Iranian Revolutionary Guards Brig. Gen. Kioumars Pourhashemi was killed in the Syrian province of Aleppo by “terrorists” linked to Israel, Iran’s SNN news agency reported on Thursday without giving further details.
Rebels led by Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham on Wednesday launched an incursion into a dozen towns and villages in northwest Aleppo province controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire unlikely to hold: UK ex-spy chief

Updated 1 min 45 sec ago
Follow

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire unlikely to hold: UK ex-spy chief

  • Richard Dearlove: Agreement suits both parties in ‘short to medium term’
  • Deal leaves Iran ‘exposed’ as its Lebanese ally is temporarily incapacitated

LONDON: The ceasefire deal struck this week between Israel and Hezbollah is unlikely to hold, a former head of MI6 has warned.

Richard Dearlove, who headed the British intelligence service from 1999 to 2004, told Sky News that the deal, which came into effect on Wednesday, is a “retreaded agreement from 2006.”

That initial deal was designed to keep Hezbollah away from the border region with Israel, overseen by the Lebanese military and the UN, but in effect it “did absolutely nothing,” he said.

This week’s deal suits both Israel and Hezbollah “in the short to medium term,” Dearlove said, adding: “The Israelis must know how much of the infrastructure of Hezbollah they’ve taken down … They haven’t taken it down completely, but maybe the Lebanese state can reassert some of its authority as the government of Lebanon and keep Hezbollah to an extent under control. We just have to wait and see what happens.”

He said the ceasefire deal will be a blow to Hezbollah’s backer Iran, leaving the latter “exposed” with one of its allies temporarily incapacitated.

But he warned that this could escalate into “direct” confrontation between Israel and Iran were the latter to launch another ballistic missile attack.


Israeli FM: ‘No justification’ for ICC to take steps against Israeli leaders

Updated 25 min 29 sec ago
Follow

Israeli FM: ‘No justification’ for ICC to take steps against Israeli leaders

  • The foreign minister also said Israel would finish the war in Gaza when it “achieves its objectives”

PRAGUE: Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday that the ICC had “no justification” for issuing arrests warrants for Israeli leaders, in a joint press conference with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
Saar told Reuters Israel has appealed the decision and that it sets a dangerous precedent.
The foreign minister also said Israel would finish the war in Gaza when it “achieves its objectives” of returning hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and ensuring the Iranian-backed group no longer controls the strip. Saar said Israel does not intend to control civilian life in Gaza and that he believes peace is “inevitable” but can’t be based on “illusions.”


Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

  • The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him

ROME: Pope Francis said on Thursday he planned to visit Turkiye’s Iznik next year for the anniversary of the first council of the Christian Church, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The early centuries of Christianity were marked by debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
“During the Holy Year, we will also have the opportunity to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the first great Ecumenical Council, that of Nicaea. I plan to go there,” the pontiff was quoted as saying at a theological committee event.
The city, now known as Iznik, is in western Anatolia, some 150km southeast of Istanbul.
The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip and the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, had said the two men would celebrate the important recurrence together but no official confirmation had been made yet.
Despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him because of health issues, Francis, who will turn 88 on Dec. 17, completed in September a 12-day tour across Asia, the longest of his 11-year papacy.


Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

  • Adani Group holds a 70 percent stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country
  • US last week accused Adani Group of being part of scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure contracts, misleading US investors 

HYDERABAD, India: Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue to invest in the country, Israel’s envoy to India said on Thursday, affirming the nation’s support for the ports-to-media conglomerate whose billionaire founder is facing bribery allegations in the United States.

“We wish Adani and all Indian companies continue to invest in Israel,” Ambassador Reuven Azar said in an interview with Reuters, adding that allegations by US authorities were “not something that’s problematic” from Israel’s point of view.

The Adani Group holds a 70% stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country, including to produce military drones and plans for the manufacture of commercial semiconductors.

US authorities last week accused Gautam Adani, his nephew, and Adani Green’s managing director of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading US investors during fund raising efforts there.

Adani Group has denied all the accusations, calling them “baseless.”

Still, shares and bonds of Adani companies were hammered last week and some partners began to review joint projects.

“I am sure Adani Group will resolve its problems,” Azar said on the sidelines of an event in the southern city of Hyderabad.