UAE billionaire Habtoor cancels investment projects in Lebanon

The owner of UAE-based conglomerate Habtoor Group, Khalaf Al Habtoor, announced on Tuesday he has cancelled all investment projects in Lebanon due to “lack of security and stability.”

The billionaire said he will sell all his properties and investments in Lebanon, and cancel all planned investment projects. 

In a statement made before the announcement, Al Habtoor referenced the recent violence observed in southern Lebanon as residents attempted to return to their homes in defiance of Israel’s orders, as Israeli forces remained in the territory beyond the 60-day deadline agreed upon under the conditions of the ceasefire in November.

“This tragic scene prompts us to ask: Who bears responsibility for this disaster?... We thought that the state had begun to regain its role and prestige, but the painful reality tells us otherwise,” Al Habtoor said.  

He also mentioned protests held by Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, before the ceasefire was extended until February 18.

“These scenes bring us back to the memory of attempts to impose a fait accompli using the streets as if they were announcing that the era of chaos has not ended yet.”

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s Parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president, filling a two-year vacuum. Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was subsequently named Lebanon’s prime minister and tasked with forming a government. Hezbollah opposed the election of both figures.

The election of the new officials signalled a warming of ties between the UAE and Lebanon, after years of strain.

The UAE Embassy in Beirut on Friday resumed diplomatic activities after its closure in 2021. Then-Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kardahi, accused the UAE and Saudi Arabia of being the aggressors in the Yemen war, leading to diplomatic tensions and the subsequent closure of the Emirati embassy.

Al Habtoor’s announcement comes less than a week after he expressed intentions to invest in a “large project” after a government is formed.

Al Habtoor also recently said he planned on renovating Habtoor Land, an amusement park, and Habtoor Mall, which have been closed since 2000 and 2019, respectively.

Last June, the Emirati businessman retracted his decision to launch a television channel in Lebanon, citing security risks.

As of January 2024, Al-Habtoor Group’s investments in Lebanon amounted to around $1 billion.

Al Habtoor Group last year submitted a dispute against Lebanon for reportedly breaching a bilateral treaty with the UAE, resulting in losses exceeding $1.4 billion. The country and its Central Bank “[prevented the Group] from freely transferring its funds amounting to over $44 million from the Lebanese banks,” a statement by Al Habtoor Group said.

The Group’s owner on Tuesday said the “illegal measures continue to this day,” prompting the conglomerate’s international legal team to file to legal action before international courts in London and New York.