30 percent of corporate income goes on taxes. 20 different duties are paid yearly

The aggregate corporate tax rate was 30 percent, which represents the total of all taxes borne as a percentage of commercial profit. The time to comply with all tax formalities was 183 hours. The total tax rate reflected all taxes and contributions that a standardized medium-sized domestic company pays within a specific year, according to 'The Ease of Paying Taxes in the World', a report published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the World Bank (WB). Taxes and contributions that local medium...

Article details

Berytech Fund invests $20 million. Equity injected in 12 local SMEs

Berytech Fund II has invested nearly $20 million since its inception ten months ago, said Paul Chucrallah, Fund Managing Director. These equity investments were injected in 12 small companies in the telecommunications, digital content, and industrial design sectors, he said.

"This is a breakthrough achieved in such a short period of time as the fund is supposed to invest its capital, amounting to $51.5 million, over a period of four years," Chucrallah said.

The SMEs that the fund h...

Article details

Beirut bourse outperforms Arab markets. Local exchange down two percent while major regionals down by two digits

The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) has performed better than all the Arab stock markets in 2015 (counting figures from the first 11 months), with the exception of the Palestinian bourse.

The BSE declined by only 1.8 percent. The Saudi stock market dropped by 13 percent, Qatar went down by 18 percent and Dubai by 15 percent. The greatest plunge was in Iraq and Egypt, whose bourses plummeted by 30 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Only the relatively small Palestine bourse had a slightly ...

Article details

Solidere shares 30 percent up. Good time to buy

Solidere gained $412.6 million in market capitalization since November 10, two days before the Parliament sessions that approved crucial financial laws.

There are some indicators of positive developments on the local political scene, said Marwan Mikhael Head of the Research Department at Blominvest Bank. Solidere stock is a 'political barometer' because it is very sensitive to political and security developments in the country, notwithstanding the company's performance, he said.

M...

Article details

Central Bank sets rules for incubators and accelerators. Knowledge economy to account for five percent of GDP by 2030

Incubators and accelerators are allowed to invest only up to five percent in the capital of each startup company that benefits from their support, according to a circular by the Central Bank (BDL) issued recently.

"BDL is keen to determine the goal of each investor in startups," said Marwan Mikhael, Head of Research at Blominvest Bank. "Instead of having high shares in a target company and provide it with a priority, BDL considers that incubators and accelerators should be neutral and ser...

Article details