Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, head of Dubai conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, said on Tuesday he had canceled all planned investments in Lebanon due to continuing instability.

"After consulting with the Board of Directors of the Al Habtoor Group, I have made a difficult decision I never wanted to reach. However, the current situation in Lebanon—characterized by a lack of security, instability, and no foreseeable improvement—has forced us to take the following steps," he wrote in a post on X. 

Al Habtoor announced that he would sell all his properties and investments in Lebanon. He also said that neither he, nor his family members or group managers, would be traveling to Lebanon.

“These decisions were not made lightly, but rather are the result of careful study and in-depth monitoring of the situation there,” he said.

The Al Habtoor group is a multi-billion-dollar global conglomerate with interests ranging from luxury hotels to shopping malls. As of January last year, the group’s investments in Lebanon amounted to about $1 billion.

Last week, Al Habtoor had expressed an intention to invest in Lebanon once a new government was formed.

The US said on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel will be extended until February 18. The extension follows Israel’s decision to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with Hezbollah.