Solidere

Stock performance

History

Solidere was founded in 1994 to rebuild Beirut's central district, devastated during the 1975-90 civil war, under a model championed by then-prime minister Rafik Hariri in which property owners were given shares in exchange for their land. It rebuilt much of the downtown area but remained controversial over the expropriation of original owners and the area's reconstruction as an upscale enclave.

Business model

Solidere develops and sells land and property in Beirut's central district and earns rental income from commercial and residential buildings it owns.

Market position

Solidere is Lebanon's largest real-estate company and one of the most traded stocks on the Beirut Stock Exchange.

Country impact

During the post-2019 crisis, Solidere shares became one of the few ways for depositors to move trapped bank money into real assets, driving its share price sharply higher. The downtown it rebuilt was damaged again by the 2020 port explosion.