Syria News Wire

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 subscribers – [...]

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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 49%, [...]

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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 developing world [...]

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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 – there is [...]

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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 Syriatel.

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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 wage [...]

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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 have held [...]

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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 hours [...]

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Lu’lua (Syrian Pearl) has become Syria’s first private airline.
Lu’lua is owned by SyrianAir, plus a number of private Syrian and Kuwaiti companies.
It has launched flights to Aleppo, Deir Az Zour and Qamishli using a single aircraft. Next week, it will gain a second plane, and will add Lattakia to its schedules.
The single aircraft they are [...]

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Last week, we reported that social networking site LinkedIn had deleted the accounts of all Syrian users. It blamed the US sanctions.
That led to claims of censorship, and a campaign to get LinkedIn to change its mind. After all, the sanctions don’t apply to websites – just look at Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Campaigner Jillian York [...]

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