Syria announces the discovery of diamond mines
Syria, Economics, 1/17/2001

The state run Syrian daily Tishreen said in its Tuesday's issues that losses of the public sector in Syria for the year 2001 are estimated 75 billion Syrian pounds ( US $ 1.6 billion) at a time when a Syrian official announced that his country owns several diamond mines that can be exploited commercially. He called on foreign investors to invest in it.

Meantime, Syria on Tuesday started a series of practical measures to open private banks and to release the law of private banking. A matter which will end four decades of the state's monopoly for the banking sector.

The Syrian daily Tishreen stressed that all these estimates falls in the expectations of the state's budget for the year 2001 which was approved in December 2001.

The paper explained that among the first loosing establishments are the two oil refineries in Homs and Banias as losses are expected to be 38.3 billion Syrian pounds ( US $ 825 million).

The paper added that the Syrian wheat company occupies the second rate with losses estimated at ( US $ 582 million) and then the general company for cotton marketing with losses estimated at 4,5 billion Syrian pounds ( US $ 96 million), the general establishment for Sugar of losses of 2.5 billion Syrian pounds ( US $ 53 million) and the general establishment for textile industries of losses estimated at 1.9 billion Syrian pounds ( US $ 40 million).

On the other hand, the Syrian English daily Syria Times quoted the chairman of the Geology department at the Syrian ministry of oil and mineral resources Talal Bilani as saying that " excavation works which have been intensified since 1997 revealed the existence of diamonds mines." he added that " experiments " are still underway to find out the revenues of such a project so as to invest it commercially.

Belani called on the Syrian and foreign private sector to invest in exploiting diamonds and other mineral resources including phosphate. He explained that " companies which will invest in these areas will enjoy several privileges, including exempting from taxes for seven years.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian source denies smuggling of Iraqi oil   (1/16/2001)
  JICA chairman visits Syria on January 18   (1/5/2001)
  Syria scores a growth at 2% in 2000   (1/4/2001)

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