Country Trading Profiles Syria

Setting up a company | FDI in figures | Why you should choose to invest | Procedures relative to foreign investment | Finding assistance for further information

Setting up a company

Types of companies and capital (max/min)	Number of partners/shareholders and liability
Private Limited Company No minimum capital.	Minimum 2. Liability is limited to the amount contributed.
Public Limited Company. SYP 30,000	No minimum. Liability is limited to the amount contributed.
Limited Partnership. No minimum capital.	No minimum. Liability is limited for some partners and unlimited for others.
Joint stock limited partnership. No minimum capital.	No minimum. Liability is limited for some partners and unlimited for others.
General Partnership. No minimum capital.	Minimum 2. Partners' liability is indefinite and joint.

Business setup procedures

Setting up a company	Syria	Middle East & North Africa
Procedures (number)	7.0	8.1
Time (days)	13.0	20.0

Source: Doing Business.

For further information: Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in Syria.
Ministry of Economy, Register a company.
The competent organization: Foreign companies have to be registered with the Ministry of Economy and Trade.

FDI in figures

Foreign Direct Investment	2008	2009	2010
FDI inward flow (millions USD)	1,467	1,434	1,381
FDI stock (millions USD)	5,900.0	7,333.7	8,714.6
Performance Index*, ranking on 141 economies	92	62	-
Potential Index**, ranking on 141 economies	104	-	-
Number of Greenfield investments***	29	19	-
FDI inwards (in % of GFCF****)	12.0	4.2	-
FDI stock (in % of GDP)	10.8	13.9	-

Source:

Note: * The UNCTAD Inward FDI Performance index is based on a ratio of the country's share in global FDI inflows and its share in global GDP. ** The UNCTAD Inward FDI Potential index is based on 12 economic and structural variables such as GDP, foreign trade, FDI, infrastructures, energy use, R&D, education, country risk. *** Green field investments are a form of foreign direct investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up. **** Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) measures the value of additions to fixed assets purchased by business, government and households less disposals of fixed assets sold off or scrapped.

Why you should choose to invest Syria

Strong points: Syria's main strong points are:
- The highly skilled workforce in traditional industries such as textiles and clothing manufacture;
- The appreciation of new activities, mainly in training, counseling and knowledge transfer;
- Its engagement for the liberalization of its economy;
- A low level of debt:
- A tourism sector in full development;
- The establishment of a system more favorable to trade: removal of exclusive rights to import agents, reduction of customs duties on raw materials and the establishment of a harmonized system of nomenclature (HSN);
- The advancement in the banking sector, through the authorization of accounts in foreign currencies.
Weak points: Syria's main weak points are:
- A strong demographic pressure (36% of the population under 15 years, 50% under 21 years and 250,000 new comers into the job market);
- A per capita income that progresses too slowly: 30% of the population still lives with less than USD 2 per day;
- The erosion of budgetary income and the degradation of the terms of the energy balance;
- A high rate of inflation, aggravated by a year of particularly severe drought;
- The absence of any refinancing instrument for Syrian banks and the explosion of credit in the private sector;
- The prices of real estate which have almost doubled in Damascus since 2006;
- A tax avoidance that is very difficult to repress and that undermines income and fiscal reforms;
- The lack of diversification in investments, especially targeting the real estate sector (high quality residences, hotel complexes or shopping centers).
Government measures to motivate or restrict FDI: Syria has profoundly changed its legislative and legal base in order to attract foreign investment. The country has set up seven free zones which allow different production activities and services in the industrial zones. The government has also favored the development of industrial cities. It has created four new towns where an industrial complex is back to back with a residential area. These centers are intended to occupy the space between ancient and traditional urban areas. Syria has abandoned the first investment decree n°10 of the nineties to the benefit of decree n°8 which is much more favorable to FDI (land ownership, repatriation of profits...). This law has allowed the access of private investors into the industry sector.
Bilateral investment conventions signed by Syria: Syria has signed many bilateral agreements with the United States, Germany, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Libya, Tunisia and Lebanon.

Procedures relative to foreign investment

Obligation to declare: The Syrian Agency for investment provides information about the authorizations required to set up a business in the country.
Competent organization for the declaration: Syrian Ministry of the Economy
Requests for specific authorizations: Air and rail transportation, landline telephones, oil refineries, mineral waters and cereal marketing are among the rare sectors which are still exclusively in the hands of the public sector.

Finding assistance for further information

Investment aid agency: Syrian Investment Agency
Other useful resources: Syria Today
Syrian Enterprise and Business Center