Saudi sources have revealed that Saudi investments worth more than SR18 billion (US$4.8 billion) have been withdrawn from Lebanon. Additionally, the number of Lebanese recruited to work in the kingdom has also come down, they said in a statement.
"During the past couple of years, Saudi investments worth more than 18 billion riyals have been withdrawn from Lebanon," said Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair, head of the Saudi side at the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council. According to Gulf News, he attributed this downturn to what he called "the fallback in the confidence of the future of the Lebanese economy." Al Hokair stressed that the deteriorating situation in Lebanon has caused frustration among investors.
Some reports suggest the real estate projects owned by Saudis in Lebanon amounted to SR5.7 billion (US$1.52 billion). They noted that during the past two years, the demand for Lebanese luxury housing units by Saudis has dropped.
Meanwhile, the number of Lebanese hired by Saudi agencies to work in the kingdom is going down as well, according to some reports. They noted that currently Saudis could not travel to Lebanon to recruit manpower owing to security concerns.
© 2008 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
