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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Riad Salameh World's Best Central Bank
Governor<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Salameh received the 2006 prize of the world's best central
bank governor at a ceremony in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Singapore</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank, it said in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><br>
Central bank governor Riad Salameh has won a Euromoney award for his management
of the crisis during <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>'s
recent onslaught, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
finance magazine said Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Euromoney Institutional Investor president Padraic Fallon, in
presenting the prize, praised Salameh's 13-year stint as the head of the
central bank, particularly during the month-long war that ended on August 14. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>During the Israel-Hizbullah conflict, Euromoney said that
thanks to Salameh, "financial markets in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> remained intact and there
was no rush to banks to retrieve money or exchange large sums". <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>It said Salameh also helped the country overcome a major crisis
after the 2005 murder of five-time prime minister Rafik Hariri which initially
led to the exit of about two billions of dollars and the conversion to dollars
of Lebanese pounds amounting to some 5.5 billion dollars. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Donor nations earlier this month pledged 940 million dollars
in aid to help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rebuild smashed infrastructure and recover from the Israeli offensive which is
estimated to have caused several billion dollars' worth of damage. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report on Thursday
that war-torn <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>
is set for an economic slump this year because of the Israeli attacks but it
should bounce back strongly in 2007. (AFP)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>More at <a
href="http://www.euromoney.com/article.asp?PositionID=16&ArticleID=1079137">http://www.euromoney.com/article.asp?PositionID=16&ArticleID=1079137</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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