Syrian Expats Return Home Seeking Fortune

Looser economic regulations are creating lucrative opportunities
By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 27, 2007 3:16 PM CST
Syrian Expats Return Home Seeking Fortune
Downtown Damascus.   (Getty Images)

Many Syrians who long ago moved to the US are returning to their homeland to pursue business opportunities. New laws are loosening regulations on private investment and foreign exchange, creating lucrative targets for people with available funds and previous experience with Syria's bureaucracy. The Christian Science Monitor looks at an economy emerging from 40 years of tight government control.

Onetime expatriates are setting up everything from IT companies to high-end cafes, and many find themselves defending America to hostile locals. "You can never find as good a place in terms of lifestyle, freedom, options, and opportunities," says a Syrian telecom expert who spent 10 years in Silicon Valley. "There is no place on earth like America." (More business stories.)

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