Finance Minister Yusr Barnieh said that the Syrian sovereign wealth fund does not enjoy any special tax treatment or exceptional exemptions, stressing that what applies to private companies also applies to the fund's companies "without any discrimination."
In a post on his personal Facebook page on Friday, July 10, the minister explained that the fund is not crowding the private sector, but is working to create additional opportunities for the development of economic activity and the building of leading Syrian institutions.
Bernier stressed that the fund's assets and proceeds "belong to the Syrian state" and that it is committed to the Santiago Principles of Sovereign Funds to ensure transparency and governance.
Barnia described the fund as "an important national investment that we are proud of", pointing out that there is dialogue, coordination and mutual visits between the Ministry of Finance and the fund's management, and that the meetings reveal "a spirit of cooperation and progress in institutional building, enhancing transparency and attracting talent".
Bernie: Creating hundreds of thousands of jobs
The minister revealed that the fund's management made "great efforts that not everyone knows" after the liberation, to preserve and develop important assets from being lost, in addition to preserving thousands of jobs for workers in these institutions.
Bernier stressed that the fund is still in the process of being built and established, but expressed optimism that it will soon contribute to sustainable economic development, create "tens or even hundreds of thousands of jobs", boost economic growth, provide the treasury with lucrative returns and build assets for future generations.
He pointed out that the Syrian economy needs institutional investors such as sovereign funds, investment funds, pension funds, investment banks and insurance companies, in addition to developing financial instruments capable of attracting savings and strengthening capital markets.. The minister concluded his post with a call for optimism, saying, "Let us be optimistic about Syria and its future."
The state's most prominent investment arm
The Syrian Sovereign Fund, created by President Ahmed al-Sharaa by Decree No. 113, is the state's most important investment arm in managing sovereign assets, enhancing the economy's ability to attract foreign capital, and achieving sustainable financial stability away from budget fluctuations.
The Fund is directly linked to the Presidency of the Republic to ensure the flexibility of decision-making, and enjoys full independence that allows it to enter into strategic partnerships with the private sector and international funds, thereby strengthening its role as a national investment institution.
The Fund relies on multiple financing channels , including a percentage of revenues from oil, gas, phosphate and mineral resources , the transfer of ownership or shares of major government companies such as telecommunications, ports, and aviation to its investment portfolio, and the reinvestment of the proceeds of joint ventures, securities, grants, and long-term investment loans directed at development.
The fund focuses on financing reconstruction and infrastructure projects, preserving the rights of future generations by investing part of the proceeds of wealth flows, stimulating foreign investment through a safe legal and financial umbrella, in addition to its role in absorbing economic shocks and stabilizing the exchange rate through foreign exchange reserves.
The General Framework for Sovereign Wealth Governance
Formally known as the "Generally Accepted Principles and Practices of Sovereign Funds", the Santiago Principles are an optional guideline developed in Chile in 2008 by the International Sovereign Fund Group in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund.
These principles represent the most stringent global constitution for wealth governance, ensuring that sovereign funds are managed on a purely economic and investment basis, to protect these vast monetary assets from the political or expansionist interference of their custodian countries.
Adherence to the Santiago Principles provides immediate economic benefits to developing economies, as it contributes to attracting foreign investment by reassuring global companies that the partnership with the IMF is managed according to secure and favoritism-free standards.
This compliance facilitates the Fund's acceptance in international markets and reduces the chances of imposing protectionist restrictions on its external assets, as well as improving sovereign ratings by international credit rating agencies, and legally prohibiting successive governments from using the Fund's funds to cover current consumption expenses such as wages and salaries.
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