Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) has announced Omar al-Halabi as chairman of the country's sovereign wealth fund. (AFP File Photo)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed Omar al-Halabi as chairman of the country's sovereign wealth fund, created by the transitional authorities but criticised by experts as lacking transparency.
Syria's sovereign fund sits at the heart of the country's attempts to bring in foreign capital after 13 years of war, and was created to oversee investment projects and manage state assets.
It also manages assets confiscated from businessmen close to the government of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who the new authorities ousted in December 2024.
In a decree published by state media, Sharaa appointed Halabi "as adviser for economic affairs to the presidency of the republic" and as "chairman of the board of directors of the sovereign fund."
According to state news agency SANA, Halabi has "more than 20 years of professional experience working with governments, sovereign institutions and the private sector in the Middle East and international markets in the fields of economic policy and institution building and sovereign investment".
It said Halabi was previously head of economics and public policy advisory for the Middle East at accounting firm KPMG and also worked with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
After establishing Syria's sovereign fund in June 2025, authorities have not announced its director.
Syria's authorities, who inherited an economy shattered by years of war and economic sanctions, have been intensifying efforts to speed up reconstruction, with the sovereign fund a key part of the process.
According to official estimates, the fund controls assets whose value exceeds Syria's GDP.
Experts, however, had previously criticised what they said was the fund's lack of transparency, with economist Karam Shaar calling it "a black box".
Most Syrians live in poverty, while the World Bank has estimated that rebuilding the country will cost more than $216 billion.
