FT examines transparency of Syrian state investment fund

A Syrian state fund has received assets seized from businessmen linked to the former government. The Financial Times reported on October 9 that the organisation does not disclose its holdings or financial performance.

Transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa created the fund in 2025. It reports to the presidency and is chaired by the tourism minister. Its assets were valued at $50bn last year. That estimate is not a substitute for published financial accounts.

According to the FT, the fund participated in managing 32 entities in trade, services and banking previously owned by Samer Foz. It also took control of a Damascus shopping centre confiscated from Mohammad and Wasim Qattan. The fund says businesses associated with it provide employment for more than 40,000 people.

The fund is also seeking foreign investment. The report identifies a $7bn agreement with UAE developer Arada, alongside arrangements with Turkey's Tiryaki Agro and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Cables Group to manage and modernise assets.

Responding to the FT, the fund said it was still being established and was gradually developing governance in line with international practices for sovereign funds. It described its purpose as protecting and developing state assets and attracting capital, technology and expertise. The newspaper's transparency concerns therefore appear alongside the fund's explanation that its governance system is still taking shape.