How a SWF might help Lebanon navigate through an unprecedented crisis

A few days before the appointment of Hassan Diab as Prime minister, I made the following proposal which, I still believe, would help re-structure Lebanon’s finances by generating value. In other words, it would be one of the pieces of the solution, reducing the suffering of everyone concerned by the government's default, a shortage of US dollars, capital controls, inflation, and the de-facto devaluation of the Lebanese pound. A law could be drafted to restructure Lebanon's debt. Part of the debt held by banks must be swapped with shares of a newly established sovereign wealth fund (SWF) – structured and managed like a private company in order to generate value that couldn’t be created till now – that comprises:- Middle East Airlines (MEA) valued by Central bank Governor Riad Salameh at $1 billion;- Ogero (telecom landlines) and Touch and Alfa (the two mobile operators) valued by consultancy group McKinsey between $4 billion and $10 billion;- Lebanon’s stake in the future oil and gas revenues of the two blocs awarded for exploration to Total, ENI, and Novatek;- Electricity (Électricité du Liban, EDL) and Water management, as well as the future revenues from cannabis for medical use (including the development of the processing industry and a...