According to economic report issued by the HSBC bank, Lebanon is paying for the internal political crisis and the events in Syria. The growth forecast of real GDP growth in Lebanon is down to 2.7% from 3.2% for the year 2011.

The report cited the 5% decline in the number of passengers traveling through Beirut International Airport in addition to the ongoing decline of real estate activity, attributed to regional unrest and other cyclical factors.

According to the report, the decline in growth may cause the budget deficit to increase significantly due to increased public spending and the decline of public revenues in the Q1 of this year.

The report does not expect the Lebanese government to implement any of the promised reforms in the near future such as selling state owned organizations depleting the public treasury to help achieve some stability in the general finance.

Lebanon which suffers from debt accumulation amounting to $50 billion dollars depends on the banking, real estate and tourism sectors as the basic essentials of the local economy.

(Sourced from www.yallafinance.com)