Steady improvement in activity at Beirut Port during the first half of 2025
Zakhour said overall port activity in the first six months of 2025 was higher than during the same period last year. The port welcomed 684 ships, down 11 percent from 770 in 2024, but handled 3.07 million tons of goods, up 14 percent from 2.68 million tons a year earlier.
Container traffic reflected the same trend. The port processed 405,629 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of 2025, compared with 371,959 in 2024, a 9 percent increase. Imported containers for local consumption rose 23 percent, from 126,335 TEUs in 2024 to 155,517 this year.
By contrast, exports of containers filled with Lebanese goods fell 9 percent, from 36,463 TEUs to 33,200. Transshipment containers also declined, dropping 21 percent from 105,411 TEUs to 83,610. Meanwhile, re-exported empty containers rose 29 percent, from 86,730 to 111,769.
Car imports through the port surged 35 percent, with 27,009 vehicles arriving in the first half of 2025 compared with 20,002 a year earlier, Zakhour added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 961
an hour ago
- The 961
You Can Now Send & Receive Money Worldwide Thanks To A Whish Money & Mastercard Partnership
Whish Money has partnered with Mastercard to make sending and receiving money across borders faster and easier for people in Lebanon. Through the new service, users can send money abroad to over 50 countries and receive transfers from Lebanese abroad in near real-time. The system runs on Mastercard Move, which powers secure money movement in over 200 markets and 150 currencies. With the Whish Money app, users in Lebanon can choose how funds are delivered – directly to bank accounts, mobile wallets, or as cash. For the first time, Lebanese senders can also top up their Whish Money wallet using their bank cards, not just cash. This marks Mastercard's first mobile wallet partnership for remittances in Lebanon. 'International money transfers are a vital lifeline for many families in Lebanon. Thanks to Mastercard Move, we can now provide fast, efficient, and secure remittances to Lebanese people,' said Toufic Koussa, Co-founder and CEO of Whish Money. Lebanon is one of the region's top remittance destinations. The World Bank estimated inflows at US$6.4 billion in 2022, making it the third highest in MENA, after Egypt and Morocco. The collaboration is expected to ease money transfers for millions of Lebanese worldwide, providing a critical financial channel at a time of ongoing economic challenges.
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
OMT, Whish deny rumors of US sanctions against them
BEIRUT — Lebanese financial companies OMT and Whish on Wednesday denied rumors circulating on local media regarding possible U.S. sanctions against them, claiming that they are the target of a defamation campaign. The rumors prompted crowds to rush to withdraw their money from the companies' branches. Before that, Sharif Hijazi, an X account with over 40,000 followers, shared a post from January 2023 published by the former government commissioner at the military court, Peter Germanos: "U.S. sanctions against a money transfer company have become almost certain." Moreover, rumors of this sort were also shared via WhatsApp, according to Whish. At the time when Germanos posted the tweet in January 2023, the dollar exchange rate was out of control amid a period marked by the tightening of conversion quotas at the Sayrafa rate, as well as new U.S. sanctions against Hassan Moukalled and his currency exchange and transfer company CTEX, which had obtained its license from Banque du Liban (BDL) in 2021. 'OMT has recently been targeted by a campaign aimed at tarnishing its image and undermining its reputation and credibility by spreading false and unfounded news," OMT said in a statement on Wednesday relayed by local media outlets. "Since its establishment in 1998, OMT has been operating under legal and regulatory frameworks that ensure complete transparency in all its financial operations. The company is fully committed to all Banque du Liban circulars, ensuring the highest standards of financial compliance, and its operations are audited by local and international sanctions regulations (OFAC, EU, HM, UN, etc.)," the statement continued. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Whish Money told local media outlet Lebanon24 that the circulating news is completely unfounded, saying that, like OMT, all of the company's offices are open, services are continuing, and there is no truth to any news promoting the contrary. The spokesperson mentioned that the company cooperates with the largest financial services companies around the world, stressing that 'malicious campaigns will not damage Whish's reputation and will not affect its work and service to our cutomers.'
National News
4 hours ago
- National News
Whish Money collaborates with Mastercard Move to bring seamless cross-border payments to Lebanon
NNA - Whish Money has collaborated with Mastercard to enable inbound and outbound remittance flowsfor consumers in Lebanon. People in Lebanon can send money abroad to over 50 countries, while Lebanese living overseas can send money home. The new collaboration leverages MastercardMove's money movement solutions and its global network of operators to provide a service that will enable millions of Lebanese worldwide to send and receive faster, safer and near real-time money transfers through Whish Money. With the collaboration, Whish Money users in Lebanon will be able to start sending money cost-effectively through the Whish Money mobile application to 50+ countries in near real-time. Depending on the receive market, senders can choose how beneficiaries receive the funds, whether into their bank accounts, mobile wallets or by Lebanese senders now also have the option of using their cards to fund their Whish Money wallet, in addition to using cash. This is Mastercard's first collaboration with a mobile wallet in Lebanon to facilitate remittances. 'Many people in Lebanon rely on remittances from their family members abroad to meet their basic needs. In this challenging economic situation, international money transfer services provide a vital inflow of foreign currency into Lebanon. Thanks to Mastercard Move, we can now offer fast, efficient and secure remittances to Lebanese people' said Toufic Koussa, Co-founder and CEO, Whish Money. 'Our collaboration will give Whish Money the reach, transparency and speed needed to scale its cross-border business and address consumer demand for sending and receiving funds internationally. Meanwhile, it will enable us to expand our payment network and introduce market firsts for inbound and outbound money transfers in Lebanon. We look forward to working together to improve the lives of Lebanese people and address their everyday needs,' said Onur Kursun, Executive Vice President, Commercial and New Payment Flows, EEMEA, Mastercard. According to estimates by the World Bank, Lebanon was the third country in the MENA region in terms of the absolute size of remittance inflows in 2022 with an estimate of US$6.4 billion, only trailing Egypt (US$28.3 billion) and Morocco (US$11.2 billion). Mastercard Move, Mastercard's portfolio of money movement solutions, enables people and organizations to move money quickly and safely, both domestically and internationally. The portfolio's reach spans 200 markets and over 150 currencies, with access to more than 95% of the world's banked population.
