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OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHDM #0005/01 0021136
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021136Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6388
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR IMMEDIATE 0016
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 0681
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000005 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ELA 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH 
TREASURY FOR GLASER/SZUBIN/LEBENSON 
EB/ESC/TFS FOR SALOOM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2015 
TAGS: EINV ECON SY
SUBJECT: SARG TRUMPETS NEW GULF INVESTMENT 
 
REF: A. DMS 6280 
 
     ¶B. DMS 4435 
     ¶C. DMS 5373 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen Seche, reasons 1.4 b/d 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: According to SARG announcements in local and 
international news, the Syrian economy attracted billions of 
dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Arab sources 
during 2005.  The investors have yet to make major 
commitments, however, and the announcements are a 
continuation of the previously-reported SARG tactic of 
creating "investment hype" in order to show that Syria has 
avoided international isolation (refs A, B).  While the 
SARG's figures are wildly inflated, Arab investors are 
attracted to the profit-making potential in Syria's mostly 
undeveloped real estate and tourism market.  Even at more 
modest levels, the new, predominantly Gulf investments in 
real property will help Syria significantly increase its 
previously paltry FDI numbers.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Local and international news media recently reported 
that a group of Syrian, Kuwaiti and Saudi investors received 
preliminary SARG approval to launch a 15-year, USD 15 billion 
project to build a tourism and recreation complex near Jebel 
as-Sheikh (Mount Herman) overlooking the Golan Heights.  This 
news follows recent reports of billions of dollars of new, 
foreign investment in Syria's economy during 2005 from Gulf 
sources.  The announced projects include: a $4 billion, 
5-year project by the Kuwaiti-based Aref Group to build a 
large financial and commercial center on the outskirts of 
Damascus; a $3.4 billion retail and residential housing 
complex by the Dubai-based Imaar Group; a $1 billion 
investment by Majid al-Futtaim, another large Dubai-based 
company, to build a tourist complex on the Damascus-Beirut 
highway; and an $800 million project in commercial property 
by the Tiger Group, which according to press reports is 
comprised mostly of Syrian expatriates living in the 
Emirates. 
 
¶3. (C) According to Embassy sources, however, the investors 
have not yet committed significant portions of the announced 
amounts to the projects and are instead limiting themselves 
to initial purchases of real property while waiting for the 
political situation to become clearer.  Hawazen Esber, Majid 
al-Futtaim's General Manager for Property Development in 
Syria, stated his company has spent $50 million- a small sum 
for the company but a relatively large investment for Syria- 
to secure the land for its planned tourist complex, but that 
it has no concrete timetable to develop it.  (Note: In 2004, 
Syria received approximately $180 million in FDI from all 
sources, $42 million of which came from other Arab countries. 
 End note.)  He said that the major Gulf investors like 
al-Futtaim and Imaar are attracted by the money-making 
potential for real estate in Syria, which he described as a 
virgin market.  Esber added that there is a perception among 
Gulf investors that the international community is not 
committed to economic sanctions against Syria, and that the 
risks, therefore, appear manageable given the growth 
prospects of the Syrian market and the potential for those 
getting in early to make huge profits. 
 
¶4. (C) Other sources have stated that real property in Syria 
is undervalued, and while Gulf investors may not be 
interested in putting their petro-dollars in industrial 
projects that could be affected by sanctions, real estate in 
Syria is a potential bargain for investors with a long time 
horizon.  In addition, sources report that Syria's regulatory 
environment has improved, which makes it easier for Gulf 
investors to enter the market.  Esber stated that he has 
witnessed a positive change in the attitude of SARG officials 
toward foreign investment over the past 6-months, 
particularly at the Ministry of Tourism.  He said that 
pioneer projects like the recently opened Four Seasons Hotel 
in downtown Damascus have paved the way for future investors 
to receive vital exemptions from Syria,s archaic tenant and 
labor laws, and that there is optimism among Gulf investors 
that the climate will improve further. 
 
¶5. (C) Despite the fact that FDI is increasing over 2004 
levels, the SARG continues to inflate the figures to reassure 
 
DAMASCUS 00000005  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Syrian public that the country is avoiding international 
isolation.  As part of the SARG's public affairs campaign 
(ref C), Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah 
Dardari traveled to Malaysia in November to announce that the 
Malaysian and Syrian governments had signed an MOU to build a 
$60-100 million Malaysian Industrial Park along the Syrian 
coast.  Azmi Sulaiman, First Secretary at the Malaysian 
Embassy in Damascus, however, discounts the significance of 
Dardari's announcement.  According to him, the impetus for 
the visit came only from the Syrian side and that he expects 
no actual investment in the near future.  Sulaiman said that 
he generally refers potential Malay investors to the US 
Department of State's Country Commercial Guide for background 
on Syria, and advises them against investing in Syria unless 
they have deep pockets to withstand probable losses. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment: While the SARG's investment figures are 
hyped, the constant announcements of new investment support 
the government's contention that the US is increasingly alone 
in its efforts to pressure and isolate the regime and help 
reassure a worried public.  Still, part of the much-hyped 
Gulf investment is real, albeit at only a fraction of its 
announced levels.  To date, Gulf investors have been very 
careful to hedge their bets and invest in real property that 
they feel confident will retain its value no matter the 
political situation. 
SECHE