At the same time, the number of Lebanese been recruited to work in the kingdom has also come down, they said in a statement.

"During the past couple of years, Saudi investments worth more than 18 billion riyals have been withdrawn from Lebanon," said Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair, head of the Saudi side at the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council.

He attributed this to what he called "the fallback in the confidence of the future of the Lebanese economy" following the escalation of the political crisis and lack of security. He noted that the deteriorating situation in Lebanon has caused frustration among investors.

Realty projects

Sa'ad Al Rusayes, member of the board of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), said that the demand for Lebanon's real estate by Saudis is very low, adding that despite this there are no offers for selling these real estate projects owned by Saudis.

"Saudis are not selling their real estate projects in Lebanon as they are waiting in hope the situation will improve," he said.

Some reports estimate the real estate projects owned by Saudis in Lebanon amounted to 5.7 billion Saudi riyals ( about $1.5 billion US Dollars) . They noted that during the past two years, the demand for Lebanese luxury housing units by Saudis has declined.

Meanwhile, the number of Lebanese hired by Saudi agencies to work in the kingdom is going down as well, according to some reports. They noted that Saudis could not travel to Lebanon to recruit manpower owing to security concerns.

Observers are expecting the number of Saudis traveling to Lebanon to come down sharply due to the security situation in Lebanon.

Many observers are of the opinion that Saudi Arabia is very disappointed in the attitude of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition because of the recent attacks against the kingdom . Saudi Arabian investors are also angry at the Hezbollah -led opposition for occupying down Beirut , where the Saudi’s are heavily vested.

Syria and Saudi Arabia are at their lowest point in their relationship because of the crises in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia , a major supporter of the democratically elected government of prime minister Fouad Siniora , wants the presidential crises of Lebanon resolved… It has asked Syria to use its influence with its Hezbollah-led allies to cooperate over the elections but Syria has refused .

Syria’s refusal to cooperate led the kingdom to boycott the Damascus Arab summit scheduled for end March . This could trigger many Arabic countries to follow the Saudi lead and the eventual cancellation of the summit

Central Bank

Despite this action by Saudi investors , Saudi Arabia remains the number one backer of the Lebanese economy. Saudi Arabia has deposited $2 billion US Dollars in the central bank , since 2006 and this has helped stabilize the local currency . Riad Salameh , the governor of the central bank has confirmed today that Lebanon has enough deposits to keep the Lira at its current value

Picture: Hezbollah tent city in downtown Beirut . Saudi Arabian investors are angry at the Hezbollah-led opposition for occupying down Beirut , where the Saudi’s are heavily vested.

Sources: gulf news, Ya Libnan

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