Dubai-based conglomerate Al Habtoor Group has confirmed it is going to shut all of its operations in Lebanon as a consequence of extended political and financial instability, mounting monetary losses and an ongoing authorized dispute with the Lebanese authorities.
In an announcement issued on Wednesday, the Group mentioned the choice adopted a “complete inside evaluation” and got here in opposition to the backdrop of “ongoing hostile campaigns, public assaults, and defamatory actions” directed on the firm, alongside broader authorized proceedings with the Lebanese state.
The transfer marks the top of a 25-year presence in Lebanon for the UAE-based group, which first entered the market in 2001 with the opening of its first lodge.
“Regardless of more and more difficult circumstances, the Group has sought to protect its operations, shield its workers, and safeguard its investments,” Al Habtoor Group mentioned. “Nevertheless, the cumulative influence of those components has rendered the continuation of operations unsustainable at the moment.”
Closure impacts the complete workforce
The closure will embrace all the Group’s actions within the nation, together with its inns, and can consequence within the termination of all workers. The corporate mentioned the choice was taken to halt ongoing monetary losses and to guard its authorized and business pursuits.
The announcement follows earlier warnings from the Group that it was contemplating authorized motion in opposition to Lebanon over losses estimated at $1.7 billion, linked to what it has described as state failure, institutional paralysis and the absence of fundamental investor protections.
Al Habtoor Group mentioned it had continued working by way of years of battle, political upheaval and financial collapse, absorbing substantial monetary and operational prices whereas persevering with to fulfill its obligations to workers. It described its presence in Lebanon as guided by “partnership and accountability, reasonably than short-term revenue”, including that it had handled the interval as a humanitarian dedication as a lot as a business one.
“That method, nevertheless, is not viable,” the assertion mentioned, pointing to deteriorating circumstances, persistent institutional failure and the shortage of significant structural reforms.
The Group mentioned the closures kind a part of broader authorized and operational measures being taken as a part of the continued dispute with the Lebanese authorities, and confirmed it might proceed to pursue all out there authorized avenues underneath worldwide agreements and relevant authorized frameworks.
Al Habtoor Group, based in 1970 by Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, is among the UAE’s largest conglomerates, with pursuits spanning hospitality, actual property, automotive and schooling throughout the Center East and internationally.
