Amidst the overall regional and national uncertainties, foreign investors maintained their faith in Lebanon's potential as an investment destination, as reflected in the number of foreign companies opening branches or representative offices in the past year.

42 foreign companies started operations or made announcements to start operations in Lebanon in 2014. What was worth noting is the gradual shift in the profile of investors from mostly Arab investors to European,  accounting for 57% of the foreign companies. The three main European countries are the UK with 12%, and France and Germany each representing 10% of total foreign companies respectively; they also happen to be Lebanon's main trade partners. Arab investors on the other hand saw their share of foreign companies in Lebanon decline to reach 21% from total investors, with the UAE remaining the leader with 17% of total foreign companies, followed by Syria and Oman, each with 2.5% of the total number of foreign projects during the same period. 

DISTRIBUTION OF FOREIGN COMPANIES IN LEBANON BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN (%share|2014)

Source: Ministry of Economy and Trade, Financial Times

In terms of distribution by sector, 50% of this year's foreign investments were made in the Services and Trade/Retail sectors, each with 26% and 24% total projects respectively. A net surge in projects related to energy was noticed, with 10% of total businesses investing in power production and construction-related projects, a trend we would expect in the coming years with the oil and gas exploration . Every year, the construction & real estate sector, being one of the most resilient industries in the country, maintain a substantial share of the foreign investment market, with 17% of total businesses in 2014.

DISTRIBUTION OF FOREIGN COMPANIES IN LEBANON BY SECTOR OF ACTIVITY (%share|2014)

Source: Ministry of Economy and Trade, Financial Times

MAJOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS TO NOTE IN 2014

•  Investment in the Media Sector by the international news outlet Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), ABC will open a new bureau in Beirut to increase its broadcast coverage of the Middle East. Lebanon is increasingly being used by news agency to cover the region
• Another investment in the Media sector including the opening by a UK company of a production and post-production company specialized in programs for kids
• Investment by the German company mk Grouo holding, specialized in Electronics components for the Energy sector. The firm will open an office in Beirut to sell energy supply systems to the Middle East, using Lebanon as a hub
• Investbank, the United Arab Emirates-based retail banking firm, has opened a new branch in Lebanon to serve the local market, adding another foreign firm in the Financial Services sector.  
• Another investment in the Financial Services sector include the opening of an office by the Hungarian Central Bank  
• Verizon Communications, a US based firm, announced an investment in the Telecommunications and IT sectors. It has expanded its private IP multiprotocol private label switching (MPLS) infrastructure into Lebanon. The expansion is part of a wider growth strategy which has seen the firm's MPLS capabilities also expanded into Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Iraq, Bangladesh, Yemen, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tunisia.

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