Lebanon’s 2012 GDP growth down to 2.9 %

The Economist Intelligence Unit issued its latest report on Lebanon in which it revised downward its 2012 real GDP growth from 3.2 percent to 2.9 percent. According to the report, Lebanon is a service-oriented economy and remains somewhat sensitive to political events. Growth prospects are linked to the regional environment as Arab states are the principal consumers of Lebanon’s services. As the unrest in neighboring countries impacts the number of tourists to Lebanon, the EIU has lowered its 2012 forecast for real GDP growth to 2.9 percent from 3.2 percent. Real GDP growth will recover to 4.7 percent in 2013 as the political scene stabilizes and would average almost 6 percent over the remainder of the forecast period (2014-2016), led by rising investment and increased regional demand for Lebanese services.from daily star.