Dubai billionaire Habtoor pulls out of Lebanon amid fear of Shi'ite influence

By Jana Choukeir

DUBAI (Reuters) -Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, the head of Dubai conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, said on X on Tuesday he had cancelled all planned investments in Lebanon due to continuing instability, and would sell all his properties and investments in the country.

Al Habtoor said in a statement separately that the unrest and instability in Lebanon by "factions loyal to armed militias in the country paint a grim picture."

"The continued dominance of armed militias (the Shiite militias) and the failure to establish rule of law make it impossible for any investor to proceed with confidence in such an environment," he said.

Hezbollah supporters held rallies in Beirut on Sunday, including in Christian-majority neighbourhoods, raising sectarian tensions.

The protests came after residents, primarily Shi'ites, returned to southern Lebanon before a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was recently extended.

The U.S. said on Sunday the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel will remain in effect until Feb. 18, after Israel said it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted last year's war with Hezbollah.

Unless the new government took a firm stance against those seeking to destabilise the country, he said, hopes for a "new Lebanon" would remain unfulfilled.

Al Habtoor said his decisions were made after careful analysis and monitoring.

He added that neither he nor his family or group managers would be travelling to Lebanon.

HEZBOLLAH INFLUENCE

Gulf states, most of which are Sunni Muslim, have shunned Lebanon for years because of the strong influence of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite armed movement Hezbollah in state affairs.

Hezbollah was the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon before it went to war with Israel. Israel dealt the movement heavy blows, assassinating its top leaders.

Al Habtoor, a major businessman in the Middle East, said his investments in Lebanon, which had been frozen for years, suffered losses worth $1.4 billion.

Last year, Al Habtoor issued a notice of investment treaty dispute against Lebanon after it imposed restrictions that prevented the group from transferring its funds.

The Al Habtoor group is a multi-billion-dollar global conglomerate with interests ranging from luxury hotels to shopping malls. As of January last year, its investments in Lebanon amounted to about $1 billion.

Last week, Al Habtoor had expressed an intention to invest in Lebanon once a new government was formed.

The United Arab Emirates has reopened its embassy in Lebanon, more than three years after shutting it.

The UAE had withdrawn its diplomats and closed the embassy in October 2021, aligning with Saudi Arabia, after Lebanon's then-information minister criticised the Saudi-led coalition's involvement in Yemen.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said last week that after the new government is formed, talks will be held with Gulf states to establish the foundations for new cooperation.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Alex Richardson, Sharon Singleton, Bernadette Baum and Kevin Liffey)