Lebanese growth forecast raised

A survey of Lebanese economists has revealed a raised growth forecast for the country in 2016. They predicted economic growth in 2016 to be 1.2 percent, up from 0.7 percent six months earlier.

The Lebanese Economic Outlook report was produced by Economena Analytics, an independent economic data provider.

ICT continued to top the list of sectors that are expected to outperform the economy in the coming year, followed by education and the manufacturing of food and beverages.

The economists also said they were more optimistic now than they were six months ago about activity in the transportation and restaurant sectors.

The research is more pessimistic over real estate price, with nearly 76 percent of those surveyed expecting real estate prices to drop in the next 12 months, but a majority said price declines in Beirut would be less than 20 percent in 2017 relative to 2016. At the same time, forecasters have become more optimistic over the volume of property transactions, with several indicating that softer prices would help invigorate activity in the next 12 months. 

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Read the August 2016 issue of Business Review Middle East magazine