The value of the Syrian pound is down 45% on the parallel market and the stock market has slumped 40% since an uprising broke out in March 2011, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

"The exchange rate on the black market has depreciated by 45% and 25% on the official market," IMF deputy managing director Nemat Shafik told reporters in Beirut.

The unrest has damaged the Syrian economy but little data is available, Shafik added. "For security reasons," the IMF has been unable to send a team to the country.

"We know that GDP has fallen but we don't have any numbers...

A Syrian official has expressed his country’s willingness to import some 900,000 tons of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) per year from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Syria needs about 900,000 tons of LPG per annum and hopes the amount would be provided by Iran, said Nazih Jouhara, the director general of Syria’s General Corporation for Oil Refining and Distribution of Petroleum Products, who was speaking on the sidelines of the joint Venezuelan-Syrian oil delegation visit to Assaluyeh in Iran’s southern province of Bushehr. According to Jouhara, the visit is aimed at finalizing...

Syria’s foreign currency reserves are intact and the currency is holding steady even after more than a year of conflict that is weakening the economy, said the country’s central bank Governor Adib Mayaleh.

The Syrian pound is “steadfast” at about 68 per dollar after weakening from about 47 before the unrest began in March last year, Mayaleh said in an interview at the bank in Damascus Friday. “The proof is that there have been no shortages of any products in the market,” though the economy will suffer “a big weakness in growth” this year.

Mayaleh...

The United States is urging Lebanese banks to take "extra" caution in handling financial transactions with Syria, to prevent the Assad regime and its supporters from stashing money abroad, a senior Treasury official said Thursday.

"We want to be as careful as possible that the regime, its cronies, its allies that may be trying to shield their assets might not be able to do so," said David Cohen, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

"We're working particularly with the Lebanese financial sector, which is very integrated with the Syrian financial...

Hundreds of citizens have rushed to blood transfusion centers to donate their blood to the injured of the terrorist blasts rocked Damascus on Thursday.

Dr. Bassam Eid, specialist in blood safety and transfusion in the General Administration of Blood Transfusions said that hundreds of people rushed to blood transfusion centers in Damascus in the wake of the explosions despite that all blood categories are available in the Blood Bank.

He pointed out that blood transfusion centers receive all donors where particular tests are done to ensure the blood safety and then it got preserved...

Batelco is to soon enhance its upload and download speeds for mobile broadband customers, it was revealed yesterday.

Increased speeds will be available after an ongoing process to upgrade the network is completed, said Batelco Group media relations general manager Ahmed Al Janahi.

He said the upgrade work, which began on Sunday, is part of the company's strategy to enhance its networks and keep them on par with the highest international standards.

Mr Al Janahi said although the project will deliver major enhancements"...

Qatar has joined a consortium of founding member-countries in initialling an agreement to establish the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman of Administrative Control and Transparency Authority, signed the agreement on behalf of Qatar at the Global Green Growth Summit, in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday.

Describing the GGGI as an important initiative to address the challenge of climate change, al-Attiya stated that it plays a critical role in the collective effort to promote the paradigm of green growth, and ultimately improve the economic,...

The session discussed the role Arab Media played in the recent Arab Spring, and whether or not it had any part instigating it through the content aired on their channels. The panel was also utilized as a platform for the next episode of Muntaha's renowned program, "Hiwar Al Arab" or "Dialogue of Arabs", aired on Al Arabiya News Channel.

The panel included four speakers: Alexander Nazarov, Director at Russia Al -Yaum News Channel; Amr Khafagy, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Al Shorouk Newspaper - Egypt; Faris Couri, Editor-in-Chief BBC Arabic, and Nakhle Al Hage, Director of News and Current...

The new car was officially launched by Volkswagen Oman at its Athaiba showroom facility.

James Oliver, General Manager of Volkswagen Oman, said, "The CC stands for Comfort Coupé and this new CC, which made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2011, is a classic and unmistakable Volkswagen car that displays the characteristics of being highly articulate, extremely elegant and comfortably confident."

"The CC has been redesigned to close the gap between the Passat and our flagship Phaeton, and establishes an exciting new model within the Volkswagen line-up," he...

The outlook for Kuwait’s banking system over the next 12 to 18 months remains stable, according to a recent report by Moody’s Investor Services. Asset quality has improved markedly since the days of the global financial crisis, and lenders are well capitalized. However, the country’s lenders face other challenges, most notably, a sluggish economy that has left demand for loans – particularly on the corporate side – limited.

In early April, the ratings agency reported that it expected the banking sector’s overall asset quality to remain at a level similar...