The Ministry of Energy and Water issued on Friday a schedule for the new fuel prices. The ministry has unofficially lifted the subsidies on fuel completely, as it set the price of the 95-octane gasoline cannister at 174,000 LGP and the 98-octane gasoline cannister at 180,000 LBP.
The Minister of Finance, Yousef Khalil, signed the forensic audit contract with Alvarez & Marsal, after receiving the approval of the Court of Accounts on the contract. The company will submit the initial report within a period of 12 weeks from the date the company started its work.
In its latest report entitled, “Lebanon: Cautious Optimism but Daunting Challenges,” the Institute of International Finance (IIF) questioned the possibility of reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to detach Lebanon from its economic crisis. It noted that the new government may fail to implement basic economic and financial reforms, because more than half of the ministers owe their positions to their political affiliations, which may prevent the implementation of the required reforms.
The IIF has prepared two possible scenarios for the next stage, one optimistic that assumes the implementation of most basic reforms, and another pessimistic one that will lead to a further contraction in the economy.
To know more about the of these two possibilities, Chief Economist at IIF Dr. Gerbis Iradian joins us through a call.