United Group for Publishing Advertising and Marketing (UG) ( ar, المجموعة المتحدة للنشر والدعاية والتسويق) also known as ''United Group (Syria)'' or ''United Group (UG)'', is the largest private sector media group in the
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
Overview
Regarded as the media arm of the
Assad regime
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in various Arab countries, United Group (UG) publishes the government-aligned ''
Baladna
''Baladna'' ( ar, بلدنا, lit=Our Country) is a privately owned, government-aligned Arabic daily newspaper published in Syria. The paper has also an English edition which was launched in December 2009 but later shut down.
History and profil ...
'' newspaper in Syria, and published the defunct
''Al-Balad'' newspaper in Lebanon, Kuwait, and the Comoros.
''Baladna'' is one of two private daily newspapers covering political topics that have succeeded in staying open after the
Syrian civil war, due to close ties to the
Syrian government
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...
.
Ownership
The company is publicly listed on the
Damascus Securities Exchange
The Damascus Securities Exchange (DSE) ( ar, سوق دمشق للأوراق المالية, translit=Sūq Dimashq lil-'Awrāq al-Māliyyah) is a stock exchange located in Damascus, Syria. Founded in 2009, it is the only stock exchange in Syria. The ...
and majority owned by
Majid Bahjat Suleiman,
Bachar Kiwan
Muhammad Bashar Kiwan (; born November 30, 1966), known as ''Bachar Kiwan'', is a Syrian-French convicted felon, fraudster and international fugitive. He is sought by the authorities in the Comoros Islands for criminal convictions relating to mon ...
, and their relatives.
References
Mass media companies of Syria
Companies of Syria
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