Lebanon Debt Relief

I am writing you with reference to your email sent to Marwan Barakat regarding bilateral debt between Lebanon and the US.

Official data shows that, at end-2006, only US$ 1 million was lent by the US to Lebanon through the US-government EXIM Bank. On the other hand, the US pledged during the Paris III conference US$ 890 million of grants, in the form of private sector support, in-kind technical assistance, budgetary support, and UN/NGOs support.

It is worth mentioning that the bulk of Lebanon’s foreign debt is in market Eurobonds. These accounted for around 67% of total foreign currency debt at mid-2007. Some 12% were Paris II related Eurobonds and loans (with nothing pertaining to the US), and 9% are also Paris II related Eurobonds held by the Central Bank.

Most of the data is available on the Ministry of Finance website (www.finance.gov.lb). Check under the publications section the “Public Finance Monitor” periodical and under the public finance section the foreign debt distribution section.

I hope this answered your question. Should you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact me.

Zeina Abla
Head of Economic Research Unit
Research Department
Bank Audi - Audi Saradar Group
P.O. Box 11-2560 ? Beirut 1107 2808 ? Lebanon
Phone: +961 1 977 407 ?Fax: +961 1 985 622
web: www.audi.com.lb