Syrian trading resumes as Damascus stock exchange reopens after six-month closure

Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war.

The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, who attended the reopening, said that it signals that the country's economy is beginning to recover and that the stock exchange "will operate as a private company and serve as a genuine hub for Syria’s economic development, with a strong focus on digital", state-run news agency SANA reported.

He said the country's new leaders plan to "facilitate business operations and open doors to promising investment opportunities".

The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria’s financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe both last month announced the lifting of a wide raft of sanctions that had been slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty’s rule.

Last week, Syria inked a power deal worth $7 billion with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria’s war-battered electricity grid.

The consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Concession Investments — along with Power International USA and Turkey’s Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji — will develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant.

Officials say the project will be central to revitalising Syria’s war-ravaged energy sector, which remains one of the most visible signs of the country’s devastation. Daily blackouts, fuel shortages, and failing power grids have crippled industry and daily life for years.

Syria’s economy remains fragile. Inflation is still in the double digits, unemployment remains high, and much of the country’s infrastructure, including hospitals, roads, and schools, lies in ruins.

Reconstruction is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and long-term stability will depend on continued diplomatic normalisation and investor confidence.