Syria News Wire

The rumours are back, but this time with official backing: Syria will soon have a third mobile phone network, joining Syriatel and MTN. It was initially supposed to happen a few years ago, but no operator was appointed. Then in 2008, there were rumours that Kuwaiti mobile company Zain, or Turkcell wanted to take over [...]

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Lina Sinjab meets Madina FM’s delightful breakfast presenter Honey Al-Sayed and looks at how Syria’s media environment is opening up. Then she talks to Forward magazine’s Abdulsalam Haykal to discuss economic liberalisation, visiting Amjad Maliki’s new venture, The Khan, just off Medhat Pasha and City Centre mall. And in the Guardian, Stephen Starr and John Wreford [...]

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Zain, the Kuwait-based pan-Arab mobile phone network, is trying again to launch in Syria. After last year’s botched takeover of Syriatel, the company is now in talks with the Syrian government to bid for the third Syrian mobile license. There are currently two operators: Syrian-owned Syriatel, and South African network MTN. Zain offers free calls between [...]

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Syria is attempting to bring global banking brands into the country. It has, for the first time, allowed international companies to own a majority share in banks operating in Syria. That means – for example – HSBC could open ‘HSBC Syria’ and own 60% of it. Before, it was limited to a minority stake of [...]

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The long process of deciding whether to sign the EU Association Agreement rumbles on. The EU finally agreed to the deal in October. Syria surprised Europe by saying it needed time to decide. Now it has admitted why – Syrian businessmen are concerned about competition from European companies. There has been much criticism across the [...]

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Bank Audi has launched Syria’s first debit card. The Mastercard can be used anywhere in the world, and withdraws funds directly from the user’s bank account. It’s a big step forward, because until now, only credit cards had been available – and were subject to strict application criteria. Syria is a low credit country – [...]

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Syriatel has denied a takeover by Zain or Turkcell. It comes after rumours that the company had sold shares to one of the companies. There has been speculation for years that the two regional giants would want to enter the Syrian market – either by winning the third license, or by taking over MTN or [...]

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Customers of the two mobile phone networks are going on strike tomorrow, in protest at the high price of calls. 6SP (12 US cents) per minute on prepay may not seem like a lot (4SP on postpaid) – compare it to the UK’s 30 US cents per minute. But when you factor in the average [...]

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Plans are under way to run a freight train from the Syrian port of Lattakia to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasar. It would mean crossing the entire length of both Syria and Iraq, and would link the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf (Umm Qasar is close to Basra in southern Iraq). The two countries [...]

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Broadband internet is finally catching on in Syria. Here’s how you can get on board. Free is best. There are a huge number of wifi cafes in Damascus, despite what some people would have you believe. In most cases, just go in and ask for the password. They will be fine with you sitting there for [...]

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