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Rami Makhlouf (316)
The combined assets of Syrian private sector banks increased last year, but this was the result of the growth in the assets of a single bank. Rising inflation also means that in real terms assets declined.
The government is distributing one additional item through its smart card system and increasing the quantity of goods sold to large families.
A strange statement by the Syrian Presidency has highlighted potential tensions within the regime’s highest circles.
The Ministry of Transport has eased licensing conditions for airlines, paving the way for more investors to get involved in the sector.
The government’s plan to rebuild the Qaboun industrial area is facing stiff resistance from business owners, who have voiced rare public criticism of the project.
The list below includes the names of all the Syrian entities that have been blacklisted by the European Union since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011.
The European Union sanctioned on February 17 several Syrian companies and individuals, including business figures from before the uprising or who emerged during the conflict and are active in sectors such as real estate and oil trading.
The Central Bank of Syria has expanded the use of a devalued exchange rate as it seeks to lower pressure on the pound in the black market.
In a very rare statement denouncing the recent legal proceedings against him, Rami Makhlouf has provided several interesting insights into his personal situation, indicating that he intends to remain active in the business scene.
The government has started distributing three important food items through its smart card system at subsidized prices.
In this 2,700-word factsheet we provide a profile of Damascus Cham Holding, one of the largest Syrian companies that is at the heart of the controversial Marota project.
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.
The Real Estate Bank has announced that it generated profits in 2019 for the second year in a row, after years of losses.
A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.
The government has frozen the assets of Rami Makhlouf, a step that appears to follow previous restrictions on the once-powerful businessman, but which could still be reversed.
The year 2019 came to a disappointing close for the Damascus Securities Exchange, which saw its main index decline for the first time in four years.
The government has frozen the assets of two businessmen affiliated with Cham Wings over claims that they owe millions of dollars in unpaid bills.
In this factsheet, we look at Syria’s economic relations with the United Arab Emirates.
A new hotel has opened in Damascus, another sign that Syria’s tourism industry is one of the country’s few sectors able to attract even limited private investment.
The Ministry of Finance has frozen the assets and bank accounts of MTN-Syria and of several of its board members, a decision that signals that it wants to put pressure on one of the country’s largest companies.
Cham Holding, one of Syria’s largest holding companies, is reportedly selling shares owned by a prominent stakeholder.
The Syrian government has announced that it is generating money from property it owns in Lebanon and is seeking to retake possession of land it has owned in Jordan and Saudi Arabia since the time of the Ottoman Empire.
The UK has sanctioned a British company for making payment transfers to Syriatel and as such breaching EU sanctions imposed on that company.
The trial of Nader Qalei in Canada will take place in May next year as the Syrian investor is expanding his investments back home.
The government has increased tariffs on some steel products, a decision that seems to have been motivated by pressures from influential businessmen.
The Central Bank of Syria has ordered a freeze on the bank accounts of Tarif Al-Akhras, one of the country’s most powerful businessmen and a relative of Asma Al-Assad, as well as on those of several other prominent businessmen, a move that seems to confirm the government’s increasing pressures on the business community.
The two indices of the Damascus Securities Exchange have posted their strongest monthly decline in years, a particularly significant change given the relatively large volume of trading.
A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.
The Syrian pound has fallen to its lowest level on record relative to the U.S. dollar in the local foreign exchange market.
Since Tuesday 27 August Damascus is full of rumours on a clampdown by Bashar Al-Assad on Rami Makhlouf, a move which, if confirmed, could signal a significant change at the helm of the Syrian regime.
The award of a contract by the Ministry of Petroleum to a Lebanese company to refine petroleum residues has caused controversy in Damascus.
The Ministry of Tourism has announced that after seven years of suspension works have restarted on the Yasmeen Rotana Hotel owned by Rami Makhlouf.
The European Union has renewed for one year its set of sanctions on Syria and delisted several individuals and entities.
The United States has renewed for one more year the sanctions it has been imposing on Syria from before the popular uprising.
Three investment banks captured three quarters of the small Syrian brokerage market for stocks last year.
A very rare public spat has highlighted tensions between Samer Foz and Rami Makhlouf, Syria’s two most powerful business cronies.
Nour Microfinance, Rami Makhlouf’s latest venture, is set to start its operations.
The minister of tourism has estimated the losses of the sector since 2011 at some USD 50 billion.
A new attempt by Rami Makhlouf to cancel EU sanctions against his companies has failed.
European sanctions inflicted last week on several Syrian investors and companies are disrupting more than expected their business activity.
For the first time, the European Union has put sanctions on the business elite that has emerged from the Syrian war as well as on its most symbolic investment project.
Airline traffic to Damascus is likely to increase in the next weeks and months as Gulf countries rebuild ties with the Syrian government.
Several companies from the UAE are looking again at the Syrian market and sending delegations to Damascus.
The EU General Court has upheld the blacklisting of Makhlouf family members and of Syriatel, one of Syria’s largest private sector companies and property of Rami Makhlouf.
Samer Foz, Syria’s most prominent businessman in past years, has expanded his business activities by buying a significant stake in the country’s largest private sector bank.
UPDATED on November 06, 2018 at 7:41 pm GMT - A new lobby of Syrian businessmen, grouping mostly investors based abroad that have kept ties with the Syrian regime, has been formed.