In a show room some 25km east of Damascus, the Syrian businessman Abdul Hamid talks about how pleased he is to have bought a Sham car.
"I decided to buy the Sham because it is well manufactured," he says. "It's a comfortable car with a nice design. And it's a car that was produced in my country.
"I had to buy it, and I encourage every Syrian citizen to buy it since it supports our country's economy, our national production and is an encouragement to our national industries."
Launched in 2007, the car's name derives from the old Arabic word for Syria, and is a joint project between the Syrian General Establishment for Engineering Industries, which has 35 per cent, Khodro, the giant Iranian car company, which has 40 per cent, and a local company, Al Sultan, which owns the rest.
It is a mid range family saloon, based on Khodro's Samand car, and comes with either a 1600cc or 1800cc engine. It has air conditioning, central locking, electric windows and a computer that lets you know whether you've shut the door or if your oil's running low.
The cheapest model costs slightly more than US$12,000 (Dh44,076) and is the first stage in the government's plan to create a Syria car industry. A second company, Saipa, another joint Irania-Syrian venture, has also now started producing cars in the country.
At the moment, all the Sham's parts are still being manufactured in Iran and only then transported to Syria for the company's 330 workers to assemble the pieces, add the trim and do the paint job. But the company hopes that, one day, the model will be manufactured fully inside the country.
For now, the next stage, if all members of the partnership can agree on new financing, is to produce a more advanced model, according to Ziad al Naameh, the general manager of Siamco, the company producing the Sham.
The car would have "an automatic gearbox, ABS, aluminium wheels with front and rear new panels, a new dashboard and a more powerful engine", he says.
To some, though, the Sham is a relic from the time the government was involved in every aspects of the economy.
Abdulkader Husrieh, an economist at Ernst and Young, believes that producing the Sham no longer makes sense now the economy has undergone a period of liberalisation.
"There is no use assembling cars while you cannot be competitive in the international car market," Mr Husrieh says. "It should not about import substitution any more, it should be about specialising and focusing on areas where we have competitive advantage."
Even though buying the Sham allows you to escape import tariffs and vehicle registration, which can add more than 25 per cent of the price, the car is still struggling to compete in Syria's crowded car market. Only 11,000 have been produced since the first one rolled off the production line three years ago, which means it makes up less than 0.5 per cent of vehicles on Syria's increasingly congested roads.
It could be argued the Sham should have been doing better since the past few years have been a boom time for Syria's car dealers.
Six years of economic reforms, including a reduction in import taxes from more than 250 per cent to 50 per cent, and the creation of private banks prepared to loan the money to buy cars, has created an unprecedented surge in the number of vehicles on the road. In 2004, there were 400,000. Today the figure is 1,700,000.
Oman Shallah, the vice president of Rakha Trading, the company that owns the Nissan dealership, cannot stress enough the impact of the economic reforms.
"It's definitely been very important because the car business is linked to all different sectors," he says. "If the economy [opens up], new companies are established which will pay more salaries and increase people's purchasing power. Companies are buying more cars for their fleet so overall the more the liberalisation, the better the opportunities we have."
Yarub Badr, the Syrian Minister of Transport, believes the car market still has room to grow since at present "vehicle ownership is no more than eight cars per one thousand inhabitants".
So far, though, those buying the cars are limited to the miniscule 3 per cent of Syrians with a monthly income of between $1,000 and $2,100. And since there has been little sign of the reform programme significantly widening that limited demographic, the question is whether the Syrian car market might have already reached saturation point?
Simon Mars is a television producer based in Dubai and London
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
