In an exclusive interview with BUSINESS LIFE magazine, the Lebanese Deputy Alexandre Abraham Matossian digs into the line between business and politics, but the love and hate bit works too because to feel one or the other requires passion, and good business and good politics are often quite passionate.
Alexandre Abraham Matossian is well recognized for his leadership skills in business. He is also known for his transparency and sharp political vision.
Today, parliamentary supremacy has been reduced to a sham. “Responsible government” means in this context that the executive government is responsible to Parliament.
Most major philosophers, and common human experience all confirm the fundamental importance of ethics to civilization and social harmony in the political and economic arena. It is clear that the existing social security in Lebanon is inadequate.
There is a broad public support for an anti-corruption body, an independent parliamentary ethics and privileges commissioner with investigative powers and a multi-party parliamentary committee with power to impose penalties for breach.
The only hope for democracy is for politicians to stand up to political parties.
Saying the above, it is important to know that Alexandre Abraham Matossian is an iconic business man, President and Chief Executive Officer of Al Mashrek insurance and reinsurance, established since 1962 in Lebanon. He is also Chairman of “United Insurance Company” – Egypt, established newly in 2014. He is also a board member of the following:
Board Member of the “Association of the Lebanese Insurance Companies”
Board Member of the “Cedar Peak Holdings”
Board Member of “Saint Nicholas Development”, a private Real Estate, takes advantage of attractive opportunities available in the region to develop unique and differentiated quality real estate projects.
Board Member of “Lebanese Credit Insurance – LCI”
Board Member of ‘Unilebanon’, Information, communication and technology solution providers.
Board Member of “The National Bureau for Compulsory Insurance - NBCI”
Board Member of “Arab Insurance Institute”
Member of “The American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce”
BL: How did you decide to join the Lebanese Parliament? What are your comments on the Lebanese laws and regulations?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: In fact, the decision was not mine. I was asked to run for the Lebanese elections because I am in the business field. I run my business in Lebanon and abroad and they wanted to change the parliament from only politics to business politics. We cannot separate business and politics. The line separating them is paper thin. I’d even go so far as to say it’s arbitrary. Trying to disassociate politics from business is like trying to separate people from discussions of diversity and inclusion. So, I think this was one of the reasons how I got integrated since I am in the political business more than politics itself and the country needs today business people to grow Lebanon’s economy. We have big debts and consequently our economy needs help. I think that the private sector is the one that can change this. We are the ones who can make a difference give a big push in lifting Lebanon’s economy. There are many ways to influence governments and politicians.
BL: Deputy, what is the added value of your political agenda?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: It is good that in this new parliament, there are a lot of new blood and the country needs new blood. New blood means new ideas; new way of thinking; new way of doing things by using technology because technology enables a completely new way of doing business. It helps because new comers possess technological skills more than the old ones. They know about everything that is going around in the world in terms of economy, technology and asset management. Old-fashion does not work anymore. We should move to the new era. The new era is that of technology; transparency; communication and media. Governments and corporations must be transparent in expressing their goals and strategies, and consumers have the duty to question any that make them skeptical. Consequently, we have to implement new laws.
There are people in the parliament who are aware of these details. Today it is a plus. This parliament has a special flavor because there is a strong party in this parliament, which is the party of the President. This cannot happen every day. It helps a lot to do new legislations, new laws and new way of doing things. Hopefully, everybody will understand this and put our hands together to change Lebanon. We should be patriotic. This is the time to be patriotic; to think about Lebanon and its future because I think this is our last chance.
The young generation that is in the parliament are mostly business people and have connections in Lebanon and abroad. This helps to integrate the European and the Arab world into Lebanon in business and tourism. We have been working years with Europeans, the Arabs and Americans and the rest of the world. We have good connections; we have people that trust us and have been working with us for long years and they know that we can do it. So, it is easy for us to make it wider as we go nationwide. With all these connections, we can help Lebanon to move forward.
BL: Accordingly, are you targeting to create new business opportunities based on boosting the economy through attracting investors and thus arising employment opportunities?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: This is one of the most important requirement in Lebanon that we should focus on in order to create new jobs. To create new jobs, we need new companies and new investors. We have to boost the economy so that even the existing companies start to recruit. Booming the economy, means that we need to bring new creative blood to our organizations. We need fresh companies; we need tourists from all over the world. We need to bring money to Lebanon not to pay money.
There are lots of foreign workers that are getting their salaries from the Lebanese people and they are transferring most of this money outside Lebanon. We should replace the foreign labor by Lebanese labor because the Lebanese labor collect their salaries and spend them in Lebanon. Foreign labor are not spending enough in Lebanon. This pushes the economy to go weaker and weaker. We should create a way like what they did in Dubai. In Dubai, foreign labor and foreign employees work in Dubai but they pay high rents and high monthly expenses. Hence, their money stays in Dubai and very little money goes abroad. We should do the same. We should think of how to keep the money in Lebanon. We also should bring additional revenues from abroad by encouraging tourism and facilitating entry visas to Lebanon.
BL: How to activate tourism in Lebanon?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: The tourism industry in Lebanon has been historically important to the local economy and remains to this day to be a major source of revenue for Lebanon. The tourism industry in Lebanon is a very unique industry especially regarding the Arab world due to Lebanon’s climate, the Lebanese hospitality, the services and the charisma of the Lebanese people. We speak three languages: Arabic, French, English. Our service is seven stars. Everybody knows about that. The food is seven stars; the entertainment is Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality; our sightseeing is seven stars. Lebanon is the country of the saints- we do religious tourism. We do beach tourism and mountain ski resort tourism. We have everything to help tourism boom in this country but all we need is connections. We are doing better than our neighbors. All we need is to be more flexible with the tourists. I believe that we should open not only for the Arab world but to the whole world especially Chinese and Russians. So, why don’t we invite the Chinese and Russians to tour in Lebanon. We should allow them to enter Lebanon without visa. Tourism is Lebanon’s lifejacket. This is how the economy will grow. The tourist might one day invest in Lebanon. They might buy a house; they might buy a land; they might do business; they might shift their business from abroad to Lebanon, they will see that in Lebanon it is cheaper to run their business and it is more flexible and Lebanon is closer to Europe. The Europeans will be attracted to have their offices in Lebanon instead of Dubai. Today, Dubai is a business hub. We should do the same. Lebanon should be the transit point. People should come to Lebanon first and then fly from it. Today, this transit point is the Gulf. I do not think they have more to give than us. We have everything and we have nothing to lose. All we need is the proper connections. Dubai holds every month several conferences and several exhibitions. We can do the same. We have the means; we have the space; we have everything. We did it many times and we succeeded. In 2004, we did it as insurance companies. In 2016, we did one of the biggest insurance conferences in the Arab world. We brought more than 2000 executives and owners of insurance and reinsurance companies from all over the world and for seven days they were so pleased and they have not ever seen such conference in the Arab world. We are pioneers in doing such events. We should do it often because this brings money and moves the economy. It increases hotels occupancy rate and increases the business of restaurants, the taxies, the shops, the airlines and the real estate. Lots of the visitors want to buy houses in Lebanon because they experienced the charm of Lebanon and how the Lebanese live and run their touristic sector. So, we should put more efforts in this particular area because this helps a lot.
BL: Deputy Alexandre, your late father Abraham Matossian headed ACAL for long years and he did a big change in the insurance industry with his international contacts during his lifetime. You have even the modern approach to our global existence, what changes are you going to suggest for the insurance industry?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: It is true that my father was a pioneer in the insurance world in Lebanon and outside Lebanon. He was one of the most successful insurance person. He did a lot in the insurance field in Lebanon. He has implemented the obligatory insurance in Lebanon and the orange card. All this was achieved for humanitarian reasons. The insurance field in Lebanon is getting a bit critical because we have around 53 insurance companies for 4 million inhabitants. In my opinion, to keep on going, this number should shrink a little bit. We should do mergers and acquisitions. The government is pro this idea and they are willing to help. I think this is a good era to make mergers and acquisitions.
First of all, we protect the insurance field. Second, insurance companies would not have to shut down or declare bankruptcy and thus the employees will benefit and sustain. My proposal would be for new laws. There are many new laws that we should implement, especially in the health area. Government should put more effort in the public hospitals because today the private hospitals are pioneering the health industry and they dictate the prices that they want. There is no competition. The only competition should be created by the governmental hospitals so that people can go and get the proper medical attention. Today, people are afraid to go to the governmental hospitals because they think that they are not up to the level. This should be changed. Today, we cannot put the hospital prices down and if it continues like this, it will be difficult for insurance companies to cover the medical expenses and it would be difficult for clients to pay the insurance premiums because eventually the premiums will go up high. We are struggling to keep the prices stable but someday, we will face an issue, people will not be able to buy anymore the insurance policy. Who is going to cover their health? The government cannot cover it. The insurance companies cannot sell the insurance policies, so I think we are going to reach a drastic phase and we have to fight for this because it is a humanitarian issue. People should have medical insurance. Government should help a lot. We should help the government to create a program so that nobody will be afraid that he will wake up one day without a medical policy. If you do not have today a medical policy, it is so hard to go to a hospital. You need to have millions of dollars to cover your case. This will break many families. They will go bankrupts and might lose everything. Health is very important in life. Everybody pays a lot to be healthy.
BL: What about regulations?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: Regarding the regulations, there are some issues in the insurance field that the regulator should and must fix. Insurance companies in Lebanon fall under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy and Trade whereas the social funds follow the Ministry of Agriculture. So, there are different ministries and that is why the Minister of Economy does not have power on the funds and the Ministry of Agriculture does not have power on the insurance companies. This is the main issue. I do not know if both ministries can join forces on this issue and resolve this critical problem.
BL: Deputy, last time we talked about the elderly welfare and social welfare. Tell me more about these two points.
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: These points are related to the medical care. The government should think in a positive manner regarding the social welfare support. The government should exert better efforts. We should help the government to create a new social welfare that supports the elderly benefits. We should implement a new law because today when a person reached 64 year of age, then he stops working. People cannot buy insurance after the age of 64. Not every company will cover them. Currently, the social security cannot help much so they have a serious problem and we should work on resolving this problem. This is a major problem and this issue is more important than any other problem in Lebanon because again this a humanitarian point.
BL: What are the problems at Lebanon’s social security?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: We should look to the future. We learn from the past but we should go forward for a new law. We should do a law which secures the social welfare of the new generation and the existing generation so that at least when they work they know that they have something aside waiting for them, at a certain age. The budget or the money that is waiting for them should help them to go on after retirement. These are the three aspects that we should work on because this is the only hope that gives to someone who is working in the country to stay in the country. This is the only hope any Lebanese national has when he reaches at a certain age, he knows that he won’t starve or end up on the streets. He has a house and he has a good living. This is much more important than electricity, water and fixing the roads. This point should be on top of the list.
BL: Deputy Alexandre, you are holding to the Lebanese nationality only, why?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: I Never had problems with my Lebanese passport. I love my Lebanese passport because I love Lebanon. I never thought of having a dual nationality. I have been granted the Armenian passport. Until today, I did not have the time to go and pick it up but my Lebanese passport is part of me. For me, Lebanon is the country where I find myself the most even though I have travelled all over the world. I have seen lots of things but I never give up Lebanon. At the end of any trip that I do and maximum after five days, I feel that something is missing and I come back to my country Lebanon. I am stuck in Lebanon. For me, it is not a country only, it is my home and this is why I will put all my efforts to keep it my home. We started in Lebanon and we have expanded to other countries. It is true that I am Armenian but I am Lebanese Armenian and I was born in Lebanon; my father was born in Lebanon and our roots are here. Here, where we studied and worked and Lebanon is the country where I want my children to grow and stay.
BL: Are you satisfied with the current legislations or are you going to suggest new ideas in your political career?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: New ideas will be revealed in the proper time. When I see things go in the proper way and the Lebanese are positive, then I am ready to go forward. Even though, I am ready today to put some new ideas on the table where it will not cost the government anything and at the same time it will be a boom for the country. Let us keep this point for the proper timing. Today, it is still early. Monday 21st of May was the takeover of our responsibilities. I am part of one of the biggest group:
)لبنان القوي(
We have to learn to share. I believe in teamwork.
BL: What are the major points which you raised in your recent speech in Achrafieh?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: I started my speech by saying that I am Lebanese. My blood is Armenian Tashnag. My thoughts are Tayyar and my heart is Lebanon. When I say I am Lebanese, this is my nationality which I am proud of. My blood is Armenian Tashnag that means this is my beginning before being Lebanese. Tashnag is the party, which helped me a lot in these elections and this is the biggest Armenian party which I respect. My thoughts are Tayyar. Tayyar means the Presidential Party, which I am going to use to help out Lebanon to move forward.
The second thing I talked about in my speech was the humanitarian part. I said that people are dying today in Lebanon because they cannot afford to buy medicine. People are dying in front of the hospitals because they cannot afford the entry to the hospital. So, I said that we should work on this point. It is much more important than anything else in Lebanon.
BL: What are your comments on the age gap between the new deputies and the traditional deputies? How this difference in age and mentality is going to affect the exchange of opinions?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: The most important thing is the mutual respect. We should learn how to respect each other. I believe this is the beginning of a fruitful cooperation. It is very good to have different ages because different ages mean different eras. Different eras mean different opinions. Different opinion means different way of doing things. And with different way of doing things we might reach a better goal because we can learn from their past experience. If we mix together; the past, the present and the future ideas, I am positive that we will end up with a beautiful result . So, this difference will help us out to reach better decisions.
The only thing that helps us go forward is the trust of people. If they trust us, we can do miracles. But if they do not trust us, this will not help us to move forward. It will put barriers. We need the trust of everybody. We should trust each other, and people should trust us because we build trust in this country and we want the country to move forward. We need to settle our debts. We need to do miracles and miracles are not difficult. Lebanon is the land of miracles; we believe in miracles.
BL: Let us talk about Lebanon’s rating? Lebanon won aid pledges exceeding $11 billion during the recent Cedar (CEDRE) Conference-Paris, France, is this fund a burden on Lebanon’s Central Bank?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: First of all, I am not worried about Lebanon’s rating; we know how to put the rating up even though if they say the rating of Lebanon is down. For me, it is not an issue because if we work hard, we can put it up high in the sky and we are betting on this matter.
Second, how is it possible to minimize the debt? If the government allows the private sector to work properly then we can minimize the debt, but the only thing we lack in this country is security and stability. We need stability. If the government provides stability to the private sector then the private sector is capable of doing miracles. We know how to work and how to make money. Therefore, just provide us with the stability and the security and the rest is easy. Feeling safe, stable, and secure is central to our health and wellbeing.
Cedar (CEDRE) Conference-Paris, France is not bad BUT we should not sit down and watch and say we got money and everything is going to be perfect.
We should work harder than before because we should bring three to four times the Cedar aid. We should work in parallel as if we did not won the Cedar Aid. We should not use the Cedar Aid and say that is going to be paid after long years. We need to be positive and optimistic.
BL: What about Lebanon’s oil and gas industry? How far is it going to benefit the Lebanese citizens and the Lebanese insurance companies?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: The oil and gas issue in Lebanon needs time. If they start today digging, they need five to seven years to see a result and this result might not be a good one. They should start all over. So, to put all our efforts in the oil and gas industry is not healthy. Oil and gas is a help but we should think alternatively. When oil and gas come; it would be an added value but today we cannot stay 5 – 7 years waiting for the oil and gas. We do not have that time.
Why don’t we use water? Let us start with something that we have. We can use water instead of oil and gas. We can put pipelines of water and sell water to the Arab world. We can create electricity out of water. There are many dams in Lebanon. At the end of the dam, we can put a reactor, which creates electricity. Water is going down the drain or down the to the see. In my opinion, water is much more important than oil and gas. Everybody needs water. It is green energy and a survival kit but oil and gas are not a survival kit. You can live without oil and gas, but you cannot live without water.
On the other side, the insurance companies in Lebanon are always ready. We work with international reinsurers. So, oil and gas is a piece of cake for us. We do not have the experience, but we have the knowledge. Our partners/the international and local reinsurance companies have not only the knowledge but they know about oil and gas business very well. They are covering oil and gas in all over the world. We can do it easily and we are working on creating a pool among the insurance companies to cover the Lebanese oil and gas business. We have time because Lebanon newly signed with an international consortium to start exploratory offshore drilling for oil and gas but still we did not see any progress. Now, we are waiting for the starting point and the starting point is not in our hands. We will see soon where the government has reached and when will the international companies start digging.
BL: Lebanon is surrounded by its neighboring countries that are suffering from severe wars and continuous clashes, how can Lebanon achieve peace and move forward?
MP Alexandre Abraham Matossian: The surrounding countries created always problems with us or with each other. It is not something new. The Israelis are our enemies and they will always be. They have an issue with the Palestinians which in my opinion it is a never ending story unfortunately.
The Syrian part, God help them. We hope that their war ends soon because the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are more than what Lebanon can handle. It is a big burden and a threat to the Lebanese economy and infrastructure. It is our duty to help each other but we pray that the war ends in Syria so that the refugees will return to their homes safely once it is over. I am sure that Lebanon will take part in the reconstruction of Syria. This will definitely boom our economy and we can show the world that we can help and stand by our neighbors.
Last but not least: God help us. Hopefully, all the parties in Lebanon will work together and hopefully they will choose to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude to make Lebanon a better place for us and for our children.
