On the tourism front, statistics released by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism show an annual 26.75% contraction in the number of tourists??™ arrivals to Lebanon during the first three months of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The total number of tourists reached 180,523 as at end of March 2007, down from 246,843 in the same period last year.

The Arab Banking Sector

Dr. Joseph Torbey, president of the Union of Arab Banks, discussed last week the performance of the Arab banking sector for the year 2006 during a press conference held at the Arab Banking House. Dr. Torbey pointed to a 20% annual expansion in Arab banking sector assets to $1,249 billion as at year-end 2006 from $1,041 billion in 2005.

Payment Cards Up to February 2007

Statistics released by Banque Du Liban (BDL) reveal an 8.33% annual expansion in the number of payment cards in Lebanon (Debit and Credit cards) reaching 1,318,406 as at end of February 2007.

Egypt??™s Inflation up to March

According to the State news agency, Egyptian consumer prices rose as at end of March 2007 by 13.3% year-onyear. The first quarter expansion in consumer prices was mainly attributed to the rise in services, communications and food & beverages prices by 28.7%, 25.1% and 16.7% respectively.

GDP Growth for the First Quarter of 2007

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported a revised real GDP growth rate of 1.3% during the first quarter of 2007, lower than the consensus 1.7% growth initially estimated.