Transit taxes double for land exports between Syria and Jordan.

Transit fees on land exports through Syria and Jordan have more than doubled, from $800 to $1,800 per truck, following the re-opening of the Nassib-Jaber border crossing between Syria and Jordan two weeks ago, according to the Syndicate of Vegetables and Fruits Importers and Exporters.

Transit fees in Syria have increased by 450 percent, from $150 per truck to $800. Transit fees in Jordan have also increased, from $250 to $400.

Local farmers who wish to export to Jordan are also ...

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Factory profit margin average 15 percent net. Survey by Ministry of Industry

The net profit ratio from sales in the manufacturing sector averaged 15 percent in the past two years, according to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Industry.

The survey covered 1,975 agro-food companies, as well as steel, furniture, and chemical industries, of the country's 4,720 licensed factories.

Expenditures on fuel oil and electricity accounted for five percent of the total, with an average of $140,000 for each factory.

Salaries paid for full time employe...

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Sorting facility for apples in Bcharre.

Cedrine, a company which sorts packs, and markets apples will open this month in Beit Monzer, Bcharre.

The total built-up area of the sorting facility, including cold storage warehouse, is around 2,500 square meters (m2).

Tony Keyrouz, a major shareholder, has invested $1.5 million in the project. USAID funded around 70 percent of the machines' cost.

The project will create around 50 jobs.

The facility has the capacity to sort seven tons of apples per hour. "We wi...

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Lloyd’s to appoint local brokers. Facilitating access to specialist underwriting expertise

Lloyd's underwriters will start to appoint accredited brokers to write reinsurance business, according to the Insurance Control Commission (ICC).

Lloyd's is an international specialist insurance market, where more than 50 insurance companies, 200 registered brokers and a global network of over 4,000 brokers operate.

Local access to this market was previously available through Dubai and Cyprus.

Intermediaries should be licensed by the ICC and should go through the Lloyd's bro...

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Smallest banks have highest growth in assets. Loans to customers surge 59 percent

Consolidated assets of the country's smallest banks soared 31.4 percent year-on-year to $3.19 billion in 2017, mainly driven by a sharp increase in loans, according to Bilanbanques, a report issued by Bankdata Financial Services.

This group of banks, dubbed 'Delta', includes 21 banks with deposits of less than $200 million each. Most of them are investment and specialized banks as well as some local subsidiaries of foreign banks.


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