LebGeeks

Tech Guru

Member

Investing opportunities in Lebanon

If I have fresh USD in hand , what are some secured investment opportunities ? The potential opporunities need to  take into consideration the current economic crises , inflation , and recession. I need to mitigate and minimize loss risks by investing in high ROI plans. I will not use banks at all.

Some Ideas I have:

Buy Gold
Buy BTC

Appreciated if you throw tempting ideas.

Last edited by Tech Guru (December 17 2020)

duke-of-bytes

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

start a chicken farm

Johnaudi

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals
^

Any weed-related stocks in the EU should be also a good option. (SAMA, Clever Leaves...)

Minimizing risk? BTC is not a good option - or just invest anywhere with no leverage.

Also do take my advice with a grain of salt, it just simply a personal opinion, I cannot, nor can anyone, guarantee a profit in any way possible.

Last edited by Johnaudi (December 17 2020)

anayman_k7

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Just keep the fresh dollars, it is an investment by itself since the value is increasing

Edit: Or buy PS5 at 720 and sell them at 1200

Last edited by anayman_k7 (December 18 2020)

sero

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Minimize risk and High ROI doesn't go together in the financial sector.
You either want a high risk high ROI investment, or a low risk low ROI investment.

I would look for good opportunities in Lebanon. Due to current situation, people leaving the country, or having worthless money in the banks, you can find good opportunities if you have fresh USD.
You can have great deals on Apartments, Lands, Chalets, jewelry.... from these people as they need the cash.

Investing in bitcoin is not a good option unless you have another passport and a bank account abroad.
Even if you managed to buy bitcoin, selling them and transferring the money to a Lebanese bank account, and then withdrawing them is a hassle.
A few month ago i had to go through this. Lebanese banks refused any transfer who's origin was bitcoin. So i had to sell bitcoins to an investment firm (they could have easily ripped me off), they sell my bitcoins, take a % of the money, and transfer the money to my Lebanese bank account by faking some documents that i did freelancing with them. I would not go through this again as it was too risky.
I could have used localbitcoin, but i know a close friend who was mugged by the buyer (he had a gun) while selling him bitcoin locally, so i didn't do that.

samer

Admin

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

People chasing "secured investment opportunities" as you phrased it is part of what led our country to financial collapse. I do not buy something I you do not understand. The other consideration is that even if I think I have long time horizon, there are always unknown unknowns (particularly in Lebanon) that creep up and force one to sell at the worst possible time.

So hold on to your dear dollars. In this volatile environment, you may need them sooner than later.

TheIlluminative

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Invest in Libazon!

<admin edit: please don't troll>

user

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

gold and bitcoin don't qualify as "investment opportunities in Lebanon" Realstate in about a year will be a very good choice for those with cash:
If banks don't return deposits and banks don't lend out money anymore, realstate will have no clients with over 100k to pay, That means in theory you should be able to buy apartments for around 40k...
Then in about 10 years when all those who immigrated these 2 years have accumulated some money abroad and wish to come back to Lebanon, that is when you sell again.

nuclearcat

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

People chasing "secured investment opportunities" as you phrased it is part of what led our country to financial collapse. I do not buy something I you do not understand. The other consideration is that even if I think I have long time horizon, there are always unknown unknowns (particularly in Lebanon) that creep up and force one to sell at the worst possible time.

So hold on to your dear dollars. In this volatile environment, you may need them sooner than later.

One thing i agree with - "investing" in someone and expecting a some kind person or corporation to give a good percentage just for letting him use money is very naive.
Otherwise, i rather disagree. Its good to work on, chase some business idea, invest money in it, when you are absolutely sure in returns. But unfortunately, not everyone is capable of this or have opportunities. And even fewer people are able to calculate realistically their chances. And of course, people should not trust outsiders now, many are now in a difficult situation and are ready to sacrifice moral principles as soon as they see big enough money to steal.
But just "eating money" and even more keeping in dollars - may not be a good idea. Many expect dollar depreciation in the near future.

If banks don't return deposits and banks don't lend out money anymore, realstate will have no clients with over 100k to pay, That means in theory you should be able to buy apartments for around 40k...
Then in about 10 years when all those who immigrated these 2 years have accumulated some money abroad and wish to come back to Lebanon, that is when you sell again.

The real estate market is bloated. Why is everyone so sure that the apartments will rise in value and anyone will return - in a country where there is no basic infrastructure (electricity, water, sewage, roads), where there is a risk of devastating wars (and loss of this property and even life), where all neighbours are warmongers and whole region full of terror, and now the situation will get worse.
And the houses that were built this days, i'm afraid in 10 years will not have much value. If people start returning, other people will start building new houses. And I hope they will be normal, and not those wretched monsters as they are now (with defective water supply, which is getting clogged due air bubbles, without cable channels for low voltage, without heating infrastructure, with terrible sound and heat insulation).
My forecasts are still deeply pessimistic. I personally will fight for progress in the area in which i work (telecom), and will try to invest my money and push some my own electronics projects, but i have very little hope it will work this days.

samer

Admin

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Its good to work on, chase some business idea, invest money in it, when you are absolutely sure in returns. But unfortunately, not everyone is capable of this or have opportunities.

Oh absolutely, I'm all for investing the money into a productive business that creates value by either leveraging your core skills or buying into a business you understand deeply (in your case, telecom). However, from the way that OP formulated his post, I'm assuming he does not have such opportunities.

Personal finance is deeply linked to one's context. Without knowing the person very well, it is hard to give actionable advice. That is why many people recommend "doing your own research". Specifically, this means studying various opportunities and mapping them to your own context.

user

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

I invest in total market index ETF, I make good returns every year (around 5 to 10%, I made 30% this year by heavily putting money around the corona stock market panics) I consider that to be super safe. A total market index is equivalent to buying every stock in the world at the same time, as the economy improves and as money is printed, you make money.

For Lebanon, there are many opportunities I would have tried to go for if I were here(because just sending money here and having a partner is not a good idea given that there is no justice system)
The quality of service in Lebanon is shit in almost every industry. Phone support hanging up on you, People cheating you... I think you can open almost any business, and be very transparent and caring about your clients, and it will probably do very well. It would be refreshing for people.

In Lebanon I might have:
1- opened a purse/shoe factory to produce leather goods. We slaughter animals in Lebanon so we have the leather. Not sure what we are doing with it.
2- Open a cleaning agency, call your client after the job is done and ask if it was to their satisfaction, show them you care, train your staff to always talk nicely to the client, tell the phone person that takes the orders to sound enthusiastic all the time and appreciative.
3- Make really cool mugs, print some Lebanon themed stuff on it like the cedar or a boat. Figure out who manages the duty free shop and ask them to sell it there, Lebanese expats will eat it up for 10 to 20$ a cup... I almost bought one of these in Canada they looked really nice
https://rcmphc.com/en/product/mug-canad … sical-ride
When I google "lebanese mug" I get the regular boring mugs with at most a cedar printed on them. That is a wasted opportunity for a country that has 20 million expat...

And I have more ideas that are probably doable here.

Last edited by user (December 18 2020)

VincentKeyboard

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

start a chicken farm

That is actually a good idea. Food products will always be big priorities. It is an essential industry.
This also requires detailed planning such as health regulations, weather accommodations, storage maintenance, and such.
You will need a sustainable plan for non-fixed assets such as food and medication for the chicken.

nuclearcat

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

start a chicken farm

Just noticed this msg. My employer have small one for personal consumption and it's one hell of a problem.
You need space, live with smell and noise, and need good vet. And get ready chickens might die en masse or stop giving eggs due seasonal changes or diseases. It needs really very good study, as it's not easy as it looks IMO for person who didnt dealt with that before.

eWizzard

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

start a chicken farm

Because there's not enough cruelty in the country already...

rolf

Member

Re: Investing opportunities in Lebanon

Buy an empty lot in the city, start a place for entertainment, maybe basketball, football, etc. where people can rent by the hour. Maybe have a small free space for children aside. I don't know.. I'm thinking a cross between a park and sport facilities that would be affordable for almost everyone yet will produce some revenue. Still needs some brainstorming.

Last edited by rolf (December 19 2020)