LCI attended GTR’s 12th Annual Middle East Trade & Export Finance Conference in Dubai, UAE. The conference took place over 3 days at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower. The conference brought together different stakeholders of supply chain and trade finance to discuss and share best practices in the industry in addition to the current situation in various regional markets. LCI was represented by Mr. Karim Nasrallah (General Manager, LCI), Mr. Michael McPhilimey (Advisor to the Board, LCI) and Mr. Naser Abu Ghazaleh (Head of Business Development, LCI).

Mr. Nasrallah took part and was moderator of the panel titled: Expanding Lebanon’s trade and export potential: What is needed? Amongst the panelists were representatives of well-established Lebanese financial institutions and Industry leaders. The panel discussion tackled the current economic and financial situation with focus on trade import and export. The discussion covered investor sentiment in Lebanon, the impact of neighboring Syria when it comes to transporting goods and maintaining export flows and the impact of the recent discovery of oil & gas reserves in the Levant basic. The panelists also discussed whether Lebanon is taking any steps to achieve export diversification and broaden its presence in prime emerging markets such as China and Africa. They concluded the panel with evaluating whether increased trade facilitation measures are required to maintain Lebanon’s export competitiveness.

Mr. McPhilimey took part in the panel titled: Egypt: What is needed to get it back on track? This panel was moderated by Mr. Bassam Azab (Regional Head of Business Development, Menafactors). The sessions provided insight into the role of regional support in driving through fiscal reform, political violence and its impact on investor sentiment, balancing investment in production against paying down debt, experiences in managing receivables and structural challenges in sectors such as energy, health & education, and underwriter appetite for trade credit, political and security risk.