Syria opens bank accounts in UAE and Canada

Syria has opened accounts with the central banks of the UAE and Canada as it prepares for a much-hoped influx of investment, the nation’s central bank governor has said.

The country is also planning for a similar move in the US.

Abdul Qadir Al-Hasriya said he expects Washington to lift sanctions against Syria before the end of this year, after the House of Representatives voted forward a bill that would end the restrictive Caesar Act.

President Donald Trump pledged to repeal the act, which includes debilitating punitive measures aimed at the regime of former president Bashar Al-Assad.

“The central bank of Syria is working to open an account with the US Fed,” Al-Hasriya said.

“These steps open the channels that will receive the promised cashflows and investments from various countries around the world. These flows will not reach Syria without the presence of an active and dynamic financial sector capable of gaining the trust of the world, Syrian citizens and investors.”

Al-Hasriya noted that Syria, emerging from a 14-year civil conflict, has already signed memoranda of understanding with several countries for investment in sectors including energy, transport, housing and tourism.

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He said plans to issue a new currency have reached their final stage and would be announced shortly, adding that Damascus’s recovery strategy is focusing on four sectors: monetary policy, the banking sector, balance of payments and Syria’s integration into the global financial system.

Syria has 14 private banks, including three Shariah-compliant Islamic units, besides the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria and other small government units. The governor aims to increase this to approximately 30 lenders.

The Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks said this year it is preparing a three-year plan with the help of some European banks to restructure Syria’s ailing banking sector, which is suffering from massive non-performing loans.