Exclusive-Syria's new rulers back shift to free-market economy, business leader says

By Timour Azhari

Syria's new government has told business leaders it will adopt a free-market model and integrate the country into the global economy in a major shift from decades of corrupt state control, the head of the biggest Syrian business lobby said on Tuesday.

"It will be a free-market system based on competition," Bassel Hamwi, head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce, told Reuters in an interview, three days after rebel forces toppled President Bashar al-Assad, ending a 54-year family autocracy.

Prominent Syrian businessmen, who like much of the nation are looking for clues to how Syria's new administration led by an Islamist-rooted group will run the country, welcomed signals that the economy would be open to investment vital to rebuilding from widespread devastation after 13 years of civil war.

But they said they still wanted to see whether Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al Qaeda offshoot which has since disavowed those ties and led the rebel offensive, will deliver.

"People are still waiting to see if it will be an open society or an Islamic state," a Beirut-based Syrian businessman said, who asked not to be named to talk freely.

Hamwi was speaking a day after meeting with a government delegation headed by Syria's interim economy minister, Bassel Abdul Aziz.

Abdul Aziz and government spokespeople could not be reached for comment, with the new, transitional government having been formed only on Tuesday.

Syria has long imposed strict controls on imports and exports, using an arcane system that requires traders to get permissions for imports and then deposit Syrian pounds at the central bank in exchange for dollars.

The funds often only arrived days or weeks later, causing delays and contributing to shortages of basic goods.

Independently trading in foreign currencies could previously land someone in jail, but has become common practice in everyday transactions since Assad's ouster.

MARKET LIBERALISATION?

Hamwi said he had been informed by Adelaziz that the stifling customs system would be done away with, fulfilling a major demand of traders and industrialists.

"Everyone who registers at the chambers will be able to import the goods they want into the market, within a specific system," he said.

Reuters spoke to four prominent Syrian businessmen who said the message from the new authorities appeared encouraging and a far cry from a system that had been heavily controlled by a small cohort of loyalist businessmen close to the Assads.

Western sanctions, the destruction of the major commercial and industrial cities of Aleppo and Homs during 13 years of war, and the loss of foreign currency earnings from oil exports all combined to shatter the economy.

Damage is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Before street protests against Assad's rule erupted in March 2011, the Syrian pound stood at around 50 to the dollar. It is now at over 15,000, turbo-charging inflation that leaves many shopkeepers struggling to price their goods.

Stabilising and opening up the economy is seen by economists as crucial to encouraging desperately needed fresh investment and the potential return of millions of Syrians, including many from the educated middle class, who fled from the war.

"Syria has a huge, educated, relatively wealthy diaspora which will want to rebuild the country. They could be growing double digits for years," said a senior regional financial official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hamwi said he had been fielding constant calls from Syrian businessmen abroad keen to understand how the new government would approach trade. He said he was urging them to return home and noted massive investment needs for reconstruction, industry and services alike.

"They will be the most important contributor to the development of Syria," he said.