Lebanon’s Currency Crisis Sparks Jitters

US dollar bills. AFP file photo
US dollar bills. AFP file photo
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Lebanon’s Currency Crisis Sparks Jitters

US dollar bills. AFP file photo
US dollar bills. AFP file photo

US dollar scarcity in the Lebanese market has forced some banks to withhold the foreign currency from everyday use.

Such banks have only allowed customers to withdraw in Lebanese lira all remittances sent in dollar from abroad, preventing them from withdrawing dollars from ATMs.

Banks also placed a ceiling on clients when withdrawing US dollars from their accounts.

The policies to block the dollar, particularly among merchants, drove people to trade their Lebanese liras at exchange firms for LL1,600 against the dollar, exceeding the daily LL1,507 benchmark set by the Central Bank.

Several sectors sounded the alarm this month, including an open-ended strike announced Thursday by Lebanese gas station owners due to a shortage in dollar reserves that has made it difficult to pay suppliers.

Gas stations in Lebanon are paid by customers in Lebanese pounds but must pay suppliers in US dollars.

But the syndicate of gas station owners suspended the strike on Friday.

Similar to gasoline importers, wheat importers say they cannot secure the requisite US dollars needed to pay for the import of wheat at the price set by the Central bank.

The series of strikes and warnings pushed the Central Bank to issue a statement on Thursday announcing that it would organize the funding of imports of wheat, medicine and fuel in dollars as of next Tuesday.

A leading merchant in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Bank’s intervention could be the start of a fierce rationing on imports.

“Such measures are usually taken to curb the level of imports with an aim to bring down the trade deficit and the balance of payments,” the merchant said, adding that this policy would not solve the problem.

In a related development, a source said the visit of US Treasury Department Assistant Secretary Marshall Billingslea to Beirut early this week, came to warn Lebanese banks from selling US dollars to Syrians placed on the US sanctions lists.

Economic researcher Dr. Makram Rabah said that the dollar crisis aggravated in Lebanon after some merchants began buying dollars in the Lebanese black market to ensure fuel to the Syrian market.

“The Lebanese people are paying the price of some greedy merchants and the Bashar Assad regime, which is using Lebanon to evade sanctions,” he said.



UAE’s Mubadala Acquires Majority Stakes in Global Medical Supply Chain, Al Ittihad Drug

The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
TT
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UAE’s Mubadala Acquires Majority Stakes in Global Medical Supply Chain, Al Ittihad Drug

The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM

Mubadala Investment Company has acquired an 80% stake in Global Medical Supply Chain (GMSC) and Al Ittihad Drug Store (IDS) from GlobalOne Healthcare Holding (GHH), with GHH retaining a 20% stake, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Tuesday.

This strategic acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors, aligning with the UAE's vision to establish a robust life sciences infrastructure, WAM said.

Founded in 2015, GMSC provides comprehensive end-to-end supply chain services for medical products, including demand planning, procurement, logistics, inventory management, warehousing, and maintenance.

GMSC serves over 200 medical facilities, including hospitals and clinics across the UAE. With a dedicated team of medical supply chain specialists, GMSC sources a broad array of products from almost 400 suppliers, ensuring a reliable supply chain for all medical needs.

IDS, established in 1987, stands as one of the leading distributors of pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products in the UAE. Distributing over 1,000 products from over 40 leading suppliers, IDS services every hospital, and all, or at least most pharmacies and supermarkets within the UAE. It boasts a vast portfolio that spans multiple therapeutic categories including anti-infectives, asthma, diabetes, and oncology.

"The expanding pharmaceutical market drives an increasing demand for specialized and efficient drug logistics solutions. By integrating GMSC and IDS into our portfolio, we are poised to create a vertically integrated life sciences sector in the UAE and enable its potential to encompass the entire value chain from logistics and distribution to specialized manufacturing,” said Executive Director of UAE Clusters at Mubadala's UAE Investments Platform Ismail Ali Abdulla.

As for Low Ping, Group CEO Yas Holding, she said that the transaction “continues Mubadala's strategic growth, following another significant acquisition by its new speciality pharmaceutical business, KELIX bio, which recently acquired a 100% stake in four pharma assets from GlobalOne Healthcare Holding's, the healthcare division of Yas Holding.”

“These concerted efforts underline Mubadala's commitment to strengthening the UAE's healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors as part of broader national ambitions for drug security and economic diversification."

GlobalOne Healthcare Holding LLC serves as the dedicated Healthcare Division of Yas Holding LLC, focusing on enhancing healthcare outcomes by investing in innovative solutions across various healthcare verticals.