The Saudi-Syrian Investment Forum wrapped up with 47 agreements signed, worth some SAR 24 bn, state news agency SPA reported on Friday. Damascus hosted a large delegation of Saudi investors and representatives from both public and private sectors, led by Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih.

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The agreements are expected to create 50k jobs and are focused on sectors including real estate, infrastructure, financial, energy, telecommunications, technology, tourism, manufacturing, and trade, Al Arabiya quoted Syrian Media Minister Hamza Al Mustafa as saying in a press conference held on Wednesday.

We have a new business council: A Saudi-Syrian Business Council was launched during the forum. chaired by Acwa Power’s founder Mohammad Abunayyan to ramp up cooperation in trade and investments, Al Falih said on X.

.. and we’re exploring dual listing: The forum also saw Tadawul Group and Damascus Securities Exchange sign an MoU to explore dual listing, enhance cooperation in financial technologies, and the launch of investment and financing funds to stimulate investment in Syria, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday.

THE BREAKDOWN-

The real estate sector took the largest bite of the investments with agreements worth over SAR 7.2 bn signed, which were directed toward infrastructure reconstruction projects across Syria, including establishing a residential and commercial project in war-torn Homs from Bayt Al Ebaa, and a SAR 375 mn Burj Al Jawhara hotel in Damascus by Ethraa Holding, the Investment Ministry said on X. Alawaly Real Estate and contractor Al Abdulqader were also involved in the agreements.

In the financial sector, SAR 4.8 bn worth of agreements were sealed for exploring potential investments in Syria and conducting joint research in fintech, the ministry said on X separately. Bin Dawood Holding inked an agreement with the Syrian Tourism Ministry to establish a USD 1 bn investment Fund, with the potential to expand depending on investment prospects, CEO Ahmad bin Dawood told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 3:36) on the sidelines of the forum. Saudi Exim Bank also signed an MoU with Syria’s Baraka Bank.

Infrastructure followed, with over SAR 4.3 bn in agreements, including over 2.5k residential units, and a building and plumbing materials production facility. The bulk of the infrastructure investment went to the cement industry, including a USD 250 mn portland cement facility with 2 mn tons of annual capacity and another cement facility with a daily production capacity of 6k tons. The agreements also covered Northern Region Cement’s white cement plant, with a production capacity of 150k tons annually.

Meanwhile, the telecommunications and information technology sector received more than SAR 3.6 bn. Companies including STC, Elm Company, Cipher, and Classera are set to develop Syria’s digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI, and data centers, including data centers for cloud and AI services and an IP Node in Damascus and Aleppo.

ALSO- Go Telecom inked a SAR 1.96 bn framework agreement with Syria’s Communications and Information Technology Ministry to establish two data centers, a cloud computing and backup environment, a technology platform to support Syria’s digital transformation, the a cybersecurity center, and training qualified teams.

Aviation got a slice of the cake too, with over SAR 1.1 bn in aviation and navigation agreements, including an agreement between Matarat Holding and Syria’s General Authority for Civil Aviation for an assessment study of civil aviation in the Damascus Airport.

Saudi firms also inked SAR 669 mn in investment agreements, which will see the building of a steel facility with an annual production capacity of 300k tons, an electrical panel facility, and a baby-formula manufacturing facility.

And tourism? Syria will receive over SAR 616 mn from Saudi firms in the tourism sector, set for the development of a 250k sqm multi-purpose resort on Damascus’ Zarzar Lake, along with another agreement for hotel and resort management with Le Park Concord.

The trade and investment sector saw agreements valued at over SAR 396 mn from Ghrbal International and Syria’s Ebla Ventures, covering the acquisition and development of land plots, forming a partnership to back Syrian startups, and supporting F&B retail.

More and more: The energy sector got some SAR 549 mn in investments from Khashoggi Holding, Absal Energy Solutions, Pemco and Utec, for joint production of electric generators and other electric manufacturing plants in Syria. On the healthcare front, Khashoggi Holding will invest a SAR 141 mn to build a pharma lab in Aleppo, targeting local and regional markets.

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