Latest economic and financial news about Syria, currency markets, and regional economy updates.
Syria's transport sector is undergoing its biggest reshape in over a decade, with port concessions to CMA CGM and DP World worth more than one billion US dollars and a $5.5 billion plan to rebuild the rail network.
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Two Syrian economists describe how a phantom-importer scheme uses front companies to evade customs duties and drain foreign currency. The Finance Ministry imposed a 2% tax advance on importers on 24 March 2026 to counter the practice.
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Syria's Ministry of Finance raised consumption fees on imported tobacco, cement, marble and luxury items by 5 to 20 percentage points, with retroactive collection from 8 December 2024, already lifting cigarette prices 7 to 8 percent before the 1 June effective date.
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Live lamb prices in Syria have more than doubled in weeks ahead of Eid al-Adha, with the per-kilogram price in one Rif Damascus market climbing from 6,000 to 9,300 Syrian pounds as supply tightens and feed costs surge.
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UAE e-commerce platform Noon opened its first office in Damascus on 16 May 2026 during a UAE business delegation visit, as billionaire Mohamed Al-Abbar signaled wider plans including two reported Eagle Hills projects valued at $50 billion.
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Lebanese Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny announced a tender to modernize and design a rail line from Tripoli to the Aboudieh crossing on the Syrian border, with technical studies expected within six months.
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Syria's Tourism Ministry has begun a 30-month rehabilitation of the four-star Carlton Hotel in Idlib, which will reopen with about 76 rooms, restaurants, event halls, and a new commercial boulevard.
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Mohammad Safwat Rislan, named central bank governor by Decree No. 99 of 2026, said in his first public remarks that monetary policy will be judged by visible results, not statements, and ruled out improvised fixes.
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Syria's customs and border authority began a comprehensive rehabilitation of the long-idle phosphate berth at Tartus port on 16 May 2026, with new dust controls and closed transport systems aimed at restoring exports.
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