A Message From The Chairman

PRODUCTIVITY

With all the turmoil surrounding us, the only weapon left to support our defense to survive remains productivity, despite our budgetary discipline out of order in those circumstances.

With a low productivity, we would be carried away by the tide into instability, insecurity, with no future vision.
After the government resignation on October 29th, we are in a political deadlock worsening the economic and financial crisis.

We should recognize that we are living into a world with no understanding, democracy having turned down liberty, with no respect to governance, political conflicts, corruption leading our country to bankruptcy.

We should recognize that we are in the heart of the storm between East and West.

Since I started business in 1963, Tamer Frères has been overwhelmingly engaged with respect to different points of views.

For the past 56 years, never have I seen the country or the economic system in such a disastrous and ambiguous state, leaving all industries and all sectors uncertain of their faith.

We, Tamer Frères SAL and our group of companies, will work together, hand in hand, with the most efficient hard work we can provide to create and reach higher levels of productivity, which is today crucial for our sustainability and continuity.

The plan for us will be simple, we will get used to the new system, we will get used to this new lifestyle, we will adapt and we will work until the slope is uphill again. Our board reviewed the forecast for fiscal year 2020, contingency plans and risk factors. We have no illusion that if Lebanese Economy deteriorates significantly, we shall again implement the decisive measures to weather the crisis with our unmatched expertise to prevent the threat to our young community.

Adaption will be our key factor of success, for it has always been the wise and most civilized way to approach a turmoil. We first realize and accept the situation, surely shocking and unexpected, we are today in the middle of the storm.

Referring to “The Oak and the Reed” that you might all know:

“One day the clouds came and it became dark and foreboding. A storm was coming. The wind began to blow; slowly at first, but soon it was getting stronger and stronger.

The oak tree was very defiant. It refused to acknowledge the wind and rain as it got stronger and stronger. The reeds chose to go with the wind and allowed itself to bend and twist with the flow.

The oak tree continued to fight the wind and the storm refusing to bend.

Then the storm was over the oak tree through its stubbornness and defiance was lying uprooted on the ground. The reeds were standing tall.

Lesson learned : When a storm comes often learning to bend will help you survive.”

This is a lesson to all of us, and we will need to progress in order not to stay stagnant, our progression will come with joint innovation, creating new ways, new models of adaption to the market system, following the flow while creating and reinventing our own strategies as we always did in the past in each sector we are involved in.

As I advised my family, never to leave the country, even though they had several opportunities abroad, I advise the

Lebanese brain, our most powerful asset, to stay in the country, to help in the development in the next year, to plant new seeds, and wait till it flourishes. It is now or never. I advise each and every one of you to give the same advice to your family members and loved ones, because nothing in the world is as precious as the time you spend close to your family and no place in the world is as nice as Lebanon.

Immigration should stop and Lebanon’s biggest asset should stop joining the lines of the Diaspora. 35% unemployment should be reduced with the implementation of the new reforms, thanks to CEDRE, with auditing program through the auditors McKinsey and the control of the World Bank with IMF.

We should remain optimistic to participate in the new reforms implementation.

We should recognize that Europe will remain very interested in Lebanon to maintain the barrier with upset civilizations behind, avoiding migration from neighborhood countries to invade Europe and change its identity.

Lebanon has never known such a financial crisis, even during the war of 1975, the whole world was growing and despite the war, Lebanon’s economy was fine. Today, is a first for our country, the financial crisis did not reach its peak yet, but yet, we believe it is only the beginning of a new era, one with more modest spending behavior, harder work, but also a great hope for the future whereas the next generation can live in a cleaner environment, better education, a clean political rule, a balanced distribution of wealth and a more controlled legal system.

An-Nahar newspaper requested from me an article regarding the situation back in February 2018, I explained in details the measures that should have been taken firstly by improving the legal system by separating Justice from Politics. If this was done, we wouldn’t reach the current situation and even if we did, all could be solved through Justice.

We crossed a chaotic year full of paradox that led to results well below our forecasted and expected figures. We hope fiscal year 2020 to be regulated with a better take off of our economy and a justified auditing company’s accounts in Lebanon governed and controlled by a financial strategy program.

On behalf of Tamer Frères Board of Directors, we wish you with your Family a peaceful end year and a serene New Year 2020.

With sadness,

Happy New Year 2020

Jean Tamer

Chairman and CEO