Last week, the Ministry of Finance closed a new issue of Eurobonds to refinance the public debt. The sale was three times oversubscribed with foreign investors subscribing to 30 percent of total securities.

Bassil said that he would have favored if the Eurobonds were auctioned in the local currency, “especially that the large share of deposits in banks is in LL.”

Bassil said that the government should seek ways to control expenditures rather “than increasing spending.” He said he supports the Ministry of Finance’s decision to stop borrowing additional money.

Bassil said that the Ministry of Water and Power should increase tariffs to reduce losses. “I expect Lebanon’s losses from the power sector to reach $1.7 billion this year,” he said.