Damascus, (SANA) – Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammad al-Hussein affirmed on Sunday that the income of customs is better than before despite lowering them to 1 % for basic materials.
 
During a workshop on reforming finance, banking and insurance work, Dr. al-Hussein stated that the computerization of customs is underway and would be completed before the end of 2008. He added that the insurance sector witnessed a 25 % increase last year compared to 2006, with the insurance market amounting to S.P. 9.5 million.

The Minister affirmed that the Syrian General Insurance Company is still a main player in the market and that it is witnessing remarkable development. He also said  the insurance market would amount to USD 500 million in the upcoming years.

Regarding the banking sector, Dr. al-Hussein confirmed that it's better than ever due to the competition between the general and private sectors and the banks' efforts for developing and expanding their services.

He stressed that his Ministry's priority is administrative reform, focusing primarily on tax administration.

In turn, Assistant Minister of Finance for Tax Affairs Mohammad Khodr al-Sayed Ahmad underlined the importance of tax administration reform, which is achieved through modernizing the organizational and administrative structure of the tax department.

H. Sabbagh / Ahmad Fathi ZAHRA