'Soundness of banks' in 12th place worldwide

Global Competitiveness Report says Lebanon
on its way to becoming innovation-driven

Lebanon ranked in 91st place out of 144 economies in the 2012-2013 global competitiveness index (GCI), scoring 3.9 out of 7, according to the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum.

The index measures the ability of a country and its enterprises to compete in global markets. The ranking was practically unchanged from last year, 89 out of 142 economies. The country ranked in 92nd place out of 139 economies in 2010. It kept the same score of 3.9 for the past three years.
Lebanon, among 20 other economies including Turkey and Bahrain, was placed in the category of transition from an efficiency-driven to an innovation-driven economy.

The index used an executive opinion survey to assess some socio-economic indicators. Lebanon scored highly in assessments of health and primary education, and higher education and training. It ranked in 7th place globally on the quality of primary education, and in 10th place on the quality of the educational system sub-indices. Scores were also high on the goods market efficiency, and the financial market development. It ranked 12th globally on the ‘soundness of banks’ sub-index, down by one notch from last year when it ranked in 9th place out of 142 economies.

Lebanon came in last place, out of 144 economies, on the quality of electricity supply. It came in 124th place on the quality of railroad infrastructure.

The report surveyed the five most problematic factors for doing business in Lebanon. Inadequate supply of infrastructure came in first, followed by inefficient government bureaucracy, government instability, corruption, and policy instability.

The GCI is presented in Lebanon through a partnership between the World Economic Forum and Bader Young Entrepreneurs Program.

Reported by Hanadi Chami