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Business Profile
Economy: The main components of the Syrian economy are agriculture and oil. In the agricultural sector, cotton is the principal commodity and a key export. Wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables are the other main products, the bulk of which are grown for domestic consumption. Oil is the main industry and provides two-thirds of Syrian export earnings, although the future of the sector is limited by the relatively small size of Syria’s reserves (which are already half-exhausted). There are also reserves of phosphates (another export earner), iron ore and natural gas. The rest of the industrial economy is divided roughly between three areas: chemicals, rubber and plastics; textiles and leather goods; and food and drink. The service economy is under-developed. Tourism , in particular, has huge potential. Syria receives just 150,000 visitors annually (compared with five million to Egypt and ten million to Turkey).
At the start of the 1990s, the Syrian economy was largely state-controlled. The demise of the Soviet Union – a major trading partner – followed by the Gulf War caused serious disruption to normal trade patterns although Syria did accrue significant financial dividends from joining the US-led coalition against Iraq. It also has virtually no foreign debt, which is a major (and fairly unusual) economic advantage. Although the Government has introduced some market-oriented reforms, the economy is still highly regulated. A high priority for the new government of Basil al-Assad is to accelerate the reform process in order to attract foreign investment which Syria needs to drive future economic development: he must overcome a number of well-entrenched vested interests and monopolies in order to do so. Syria also has a young and fast-growing population: some economists estimate that the country needs annual growth of around seven per cent to absorb the new entrants into the labour force. At four per cent, current GDP growth is well short of this; unemployment is 20 per cent and rising.
Among the most worrying long-term issues is water – a precious commodity in a very arid region. A partial solution has been found through a recent agreement with Turkey over use of the northern part of Tigris/Euphrates river system. Syria’s main trading partners are Turkey and the main EU economies, particularly Germany, Italy and Spain.
Business: Formal suits are necessary for business. Business people generally speak English and French. Appointments are necessary and visiting cards are widely used. Arabs often discuss business with more than one person at a time. A list of notarised translators is available from the British Embassy. Office hours: Sat-Thurs 0830-1430. All government offices, banks and Muslim firms close Friday and remain open Sunday; Christian firms are generally open Friday and closed Sunday. During the month of Ramadan, government offices start work one hour later than usual.
Commercial Information: The following organisations can offer advice: Damascus Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1040, 126 rue Mou’awiah, Damascus (tel: (11) 211 339; fax: (11) 222 5874; e-mail: dcc@net.sy; website: www.dcc-sy.com); or
Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, PO Box 5909, rue Mousa Ben Nousair, Damascus (tel: (11) 331 1504; fax: (11) 331 1127; e-mail: ritsec@schamb.com.eg).
Conferences/Conventions: Hotels with conference facilities can be found in Damascus (The Sheraton, Cham Palace, Omayyad and Ebla-Cham), in Aleppo (Shahba-Cham), in Latakia (the Cote d’Azure) and in Hama (Apamee-Cham).
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