Economic Revival Plan
unveiled in its 2020 edition

More than 250 measures

proposed for all sectors

The team of Lebanon Opportunities has published an update to a draft for an economic revival plan it had circulated in December. The magazine organized in December eight workshops to discuss and obtain feedback on the draft.

The plan proposes measures to alleviate monetary restrictions, fiscal and trade deficits, and make the balance of payments positive.

The plan contradicts the consensus that lifting capital controls would lead to a banking liquidity crisis. It also calls for drastic measures to deal with public debt and the deficit in government finances. These measures include writing off the public debt held by the Central Bank and purchasing electricity from other providers to curb losses by the electricity company. Savings from these two measures as well as raising VAT on imports would erase a major portion of the deficit.

The plan has called for the implementation of dozens of measures in support of all economic sectors. It said that these are necessary as a catalyst for a sound economic activity which will eventually lead to economic growth and job creation.

Privatization and other schemes involving partnerships with the private sector are considered a priority. They go much further than proposals made by the former government and other proponents of privatization.

Many of the proposals may not be optimal in normal times but these are “extraordinary, for extraordinary times,” said the plan.

“We intended to include provocative proposal, in the positive sense, to encourage debate around many issues that were taken for granted,” said Ramzi El Hafez the publisher of Lebanon Opportunities who is calling for companies and stakeholders to endorse the plan.

To download: www.leadersclub.com.lb/revival