Syrian authorities have announced new penalties for dealing in foreign currencies and closed more than a dozen foreign exchange companies, but also offered a more attractive rate to buy dollars. However, these moves have little chance of stopping the freefall of the Syrian pound.

A company from China is negotiating to set up a plant in Syria, which would be one of the very few Chinese investments to take place in the country.

A financial brokerage company that is believed to be linked to Samer Foz has been licenced in Damascus, the first such company to start operating since 2011.

Syria’s free trade zones recorded a decrease in their activity in 2019, a worrying development given the low base of economic activity at the start of the year.

The credit and monetary council of the Central Bank of Syria has announced that it will issue new certificates of deposits denominated in Syrian pounds this year.