BEIRUT, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon has fallen down four places to 105th in the global competitiveness rankings, according to the the Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 released on Wednesday.
Despite the country's relatively stable performance, "the situation in neighboring Syria and the large influx of refugees have further drained economic resources and put the national health and education system under pressure," said the report.
However, it noted that "the use of information communication technology improved thanks to increased international internet bandwidth and mobile broadband subscriptions, while deflation improved the country's macroeconomic context."
The report added that the most problematic factors for doing business in Lebanon are "the government instability, corruption, inadequate supply of infrastructure, inefficient government bureaucracy, policy instability, and inflation and tax rates."
International financial institutions have constantly called on the Lebanese government to improve the business climate.
The government has pledged many times to combat corruption, reduce bureaucratic procedures and switch to fully computerized public departments to encourage foreign investments in the country.
