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The interview with Dr. Nasser Saidi titled “Time is running out” appeared on Diwan, a blog from the Carnegie Endowment... Read More
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Recent & Upcoming Events
Dec 5: Speaker and panelist at the Oman Centre for Governance and Sustainability (OCGS) Annual Corporate Governance Conference (Muscat)
Nov 20: Panel moderator at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation’s Knowledge Summit 2019 (Dubai)
Nov 20: Opening remarks and presentation at the Clean Energy Business Council Annual Summit (Dubai)
Nov 19: Keynote address at the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Saudi Arabia conference (Riyadh)
Oct 28: Panelist at the launch of IMF’s MENA Regional Economic Outlook (Dubai)
Oct 15: Guest speaker at the LIFE Luncheon (Dubai, invite only)
Sep 15: Introductory remark at the CEBC event “ESCO Market in MENA Region (Challenges vs Opportunities)” (Dubai)
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The MENA-OECD Working Group on Investment and Trade‘s 2018 meeting was... Read More
The commencement speechat the Universite St. Joseph was delivered by... Read MoreIn the Media
The interview with Dr. Nasser Saidi titled “Time is running out” appeared on Diwan, a blog from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Program and the Carnegie Middle East Center.The original article (copied below) is available at: https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/80524 Time is running out In an interview, former minister Nasser al-Saidi explains why Lebanon’s financial revival will be a massive undertaking. Nasser al-Saidi is a Lebanese economist who served as first vice governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank in 1993–2002 and as minister of economy and trade in 1998–2000. He was chief economist and strategist of the Dubai International Financial Center, and acts as an advisor to governments, central banks, and regulators... Read More Questions answered in this interview include: How did Lebanon get to this crisis scenario? Why should the international community come to Lebanon’s aid? Also discussed is the urgency to form a new technocratic government and an eventual move to a secular state. Listen to the interview (from 1:00 to 7:00) at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172wq52b0xp9qs
Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments on Lebanon’s potential debt crisis appeared in the article titled “Lebanon urged to restructure debt as crisis deepens” published in the FT on 28th Nov 2019. The full article can be accessed at: https://www.ft.com/content/e0c02d14-104e-11ea-a225-db2f231cfeae Comments are posted below: Nasser Saidi, a former central bank vice governor, said he expected the central bank would be able to provide the foreign currency needed to cover Thursday’s repayment, pointing out that not all the funds would automatically flow overseas. He estimated that over two-thirds of the $1.5bn owed would remain in the country as the debt is already held by local lenders and the central bank. “The balance to foreign... Read More Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments on Lebanon’s escalating economic-financial-fiscal crisis appeared in the article titled “Lebanon’s creditors adopt crash position as default risk worsens” published in the FT on 16th Nov 2019. The full article can be accessed at: https://www.ft.com/content/11d008d6-07b5-11ea-a984-fbbacad9e7dd Comments are posted below: Nasser Saidi, a former BdL vice-governor and former economy and trade minister, said different approaches were needed to ease the debt servicing burden of Lebanon’s foreign currency and local currency debts. Mr Saidi said that maturities on local debt could be extended and interest rates lowered, if BdL, local banks and pension funds were to agree with the measures. He added that multilateral development banks and foreign donors... Read More
Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments on Lebanon’s escalating economic-financial-fiscal crisis appeared in the article titled “Economic Crisis Looms as Protests Rage in Lebanon” published in the New York Times on 15th Nov 2019. The full article can be accessed at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/world/middleeast/lebanon-protests-economy.html Comments are posted below: “The problem is that the current policies are unsustainable,” said Nasser Saidi, a former Lebanese economy minister. Putting the country on the right track would require simultaneously dealing with a large budget deficit and bringing down public debt — a gargantuan task. “You really don’t have much choice,” he said. “You are at the edge of the precipice and you are looking down, so unless you do... Read More
