''Al-Assad issued on Saturday legislative decrees stipulating for increasing monthly salaries of civil and military personnel,'' Syrian News Agency (SANA) said.
Analysts said the increasing had come days after the Iranian financial support for the Assad regime, '' Iran has stepped in to help Syria raise the value of its currency after it plummeted following the United States announcing plans to arm Syrian rebels.'' UPI revealed recently.
The legislative decree No. 39 for 2013 stipulated for increasing monthly
pensions of civil and military personnel. Another decree issued
legislative decree No. 38 for 2013 stipulating for increasing monthly salaries
of civil and military state employees.
The promised increasing has come as
result for the economic collapse of Syrian resources after 27 months
of revolution.
Before the Syrian civil war started more than two years ago, the Syrian pound was worth about 70 U.S. dollars; however, last week it was trading at 170 dollars, The New York Times reported.
To help bolster the value of its
currency, Adib Mayalah, the governor of Syria's Central Bank, announced Tuesday
it will tap into a $1 billion credit line provided by Iran.
However, experts say the move will be
a temporary fix, as Iran is also facing heavy financial restrictions.
Syria's economy will shrink by about 15 percent this year compared to a contraction of 20 percent in 2012 and 6 percent in 2011, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a report earlier this month.
The economy's nominal size is projected to drop to US$27bn in 2013 compared with US$57.5bn in 2010 prior to the revolt against the Syrian leader, as tourism receipts and foreign direct investment dry up, the IIF said.
A Syrian expatriate currency market trader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he thinks the credit line from Iran is a psychological tool and might not even exist. The Syrian pound going up in value would be an indicator of this theory, he said.
"Unless they're able to knock it
back to 150, I would imagine it would just be a cosmetic process," he said.
"I'm personally extremely skeptical."
Tourism receipts
accounted for around 11 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, while FDI in
2010 was at US$1.5bn.
The country's fiscal
deficit, financed mostly by domestic banks, is forecast to widen to 13 percent
of GDP in 2013 compared with 16.3 percent last year as the government increases
spending and tax revenue and oil receipts decline, the IIF said.
Syria's foreign currency reserves are projected to plunge to US$2.1bn, enough to cover one month of imports, compared with US$5.6bn at the end of last year, the IIF said. The central bank had about US$18bn in foreign currency reserves prior to the outbreak of violence in the southern part of the country.
Editing by Mohamed Hamdan
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