The UN Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC-Beirut) organized on Thursday 9 October 2008 a press conference at the UN House-Beirut to launch The World Investment Report 2008 (WIR 2008) issued by the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Key speakers of the conference were Mr. Ali Berro, Director of Quality Program at the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Mr. Khaled Hussein, First Economic Affairs Officer at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA). The report’s 2008 subtitle is "Transnational Corporations and the Infrastructure Challenge".
Berro commented on the impact of the current world economic crisis on Lebanon and the country’s position, among other countries in the region, in attracting foreign investment in 2007 according to the facts stated under the WIR 2008. Berro said that it is still very early to determine the impact of the current world economic crisis on the Arab region in general and Lebanon in particular. "But it is possible to say that the Arab oil producing countries might be negatively affected more than other countries. As for Lebanon, it will probably be least affected as a result of its small economy and limited stock exchange activity," Berro said.
According to the WIR 2008, Berro said that Lebanon witnessed growth in investments and Arab capitals by approximately four percent to 2845 million in 2007. "But Lebanon maintained its fourth position among the Arab countries in attracting investments in 2007 compared to 2006, after ranking third in 2005, second in 2004 and first in 2003," Berro added.
For his part, Hussein briefed reporters about investment in the Arab region. He said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Arab countries increased 17% in 2007 to USD$72.4 billion.
It will be recalled that Saudi Arabia ranked first with the FDI reaching USD$24.3 billion in 2007, up 33% from 2006. The United Arab Emirates came second with FDI at USD$13.3 billion, Egypt third with FDI USD$11.6 billion and Lebanon fourth with FDI USD2.8 billion.
Each year, the United Nations Conference on Trade an Development (UNCTAD) publishes its World Investment Report (WIR), which presents the most recent statistics on foreign direct investment (FDI) around the globe and regionally, and analyses this data as it applies to economic development.
