Lucid Investments gains banking license. To execute growth strategy in activities and scope

The final step to transform local financial company Lucid Investments into a licensed bank has been approved by the Central Bank (BDL). The corporation will now operate under the name of Lucid Investment Bank. The specialized bank has increased its capital to LL30 billion ($20 million). The approval follows BDL's keenness for a widening of funding solutions beyond the usual classic credit facilities provided by commercial banks.

Established in 2003, Lucid will continue its core business ...

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BLC Bank shuts down investment subsidiary. To focus more on commercial banking

BLC Bank, part of the Fransabank group, has shut down its investment subsidiary, BLC Invest.

The bank said in a statement that it is concentrating on commercial banking activities and for this reason, it has absorbed all of the assets and liabilities of BLC Invest. It said that it has provided continuity to all BLC Invest employees who have expressed a wish to stay on.

"All outstanding activities of BLC Invest are now assumed by BLC Bank," the bank said.

A person familiar ...

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Audi writes off $191 million in Syria, Sudan investments. Positive growth in all Q3 indicators

Bank Audi announced that it has written off its investments in Syria and Sudan for an amount of $191 million. In its third quarter results report, the bank declared a 15.2 percent growth in profits over the same period of last year, to $350 million.

The bank's other indicators were all positive, deriving almost half its operations from entities abroad.

The bank announced the following results:
$45.3 billion of assets, of which 45 percent is from entities abroad
$37.0 billi...

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Berytech Fund I exits three companies for $800,000. PayPlug, Active Identity, and Cook & Eat Lebanese

Berytech Fund I has exited three of its portfolio companies, PayPlug, Active Identity, and Cook & Eat Lebanese, at a combined price of nearly $800,000.

The venture capital fund said it divested itself from PayPlug at three times the initial investment. The stake was sold to PayPlug's existing shareholders who were seeking to increase their share in the company. PayPlug is a mobile payment company created in 2012 by two Harvard Business School graduates, Camille Tyan and Antoine Grimaud. T...

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Kafalat iSME invests $600,000 in Falafel Games. Amount forms part of a $2.6 million equity funding

Kafalat iSME Programme has contributed $600,000 of equity into Falafel Games, a developer of game applications.

The investment is part of a $2.6 million equity funding recently raised by Falafel Games to finance the creation of new games and its planned market expansion. Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has provided two million dollars.

iSME, which plans to exit this investment within five years, co-invests alongside institutional investors in innovative companies, said Bassel A...

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