AIRINC (Associates for International Research, Inc.)

Lebanon’s economy was struggling before the catastrophic explosion on August 4. Severe cash shortages, a widening gap between official and parallel market exchange rates, increasing poverty rates, high unemployment, and periods of high protest activity have impacted Lebanon over the past year. Inflation is high and many assignees have to use unfavorable rates when purchasing at least a portion of their goods.

Data Points brings you the latest updates from our Housing, Goods & Services, and Tax departments. These highlights are based on our expert international surveys, which are conducted on location by our global data collection team.

In 2014, I moved to Brussels to study business engineering at the Solvay Management School. Five years later, I found myself holding a Master’s degree, and I saw a wide range of possibilities before me. Luckily, I was in contact with a recruiter who put me in touch with a company with a mysterious name: AIRINC.

AIRINC recently conducted rental market updates across Europe and Asia and, in many places, life was getting back to normal.

Due to COVID-19, many markets that have recently been driven by short-term lettings ala Airbnb have had to reverse course. The short-term rental markets in Prague, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Reykjavik, and many others have transitioned back to long-term rentals as a result of closed borders and a drastic reduction in demand.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Beijing and Guangzhou rental markets is somewhat similar. When new international assignees were restricted from entering the cities, the demand for expatriate-quality housing dropped and rents became more negotiable, like many other large business hubs across Asia.

Over six months after the first COVID-19 case was reported, countries across the world are still adjusting to the new “normal.” After conducting almost thirty real estate interviews across nine Asian cities, the difference in city positioning, restrictions, capacity, and others’ perception of each city is stark, and the executive segments of these markets are responding differently.

Data Points brings you the latest updates from our Housing, Goods & Services, and Tax departments. These highlights are based on our expert international surveys, which are conducted on location by our global data collection team.

I arrived early in the morning at Kinshasa’s N'djili International Airport this past January 29th on a connecting flight from Addis Ababa. Upon arrival, I expected the same chaos that I experienced during my previous surveys in 2003 and 2008, but I was pleasantly surprised.

On my most recent trip, I surveyed Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital and most populous city in Tanzania. While conducting my survey, I observed that several areas have developed in order to cater to expatriate needs. While overall availability of goods and services is consistent, certain categories are lacking and require purchases to be made on home leave or through travel to nearby international cities, like Nairobi.