The pledged capital value of foreign partners who established new companies in Istanbul in the first quarter of 2016 soared 12.1 percent compared to the same period of last year.Meanwhile, Syrians, who established a total of 650 companies during this period, had the lion's share of 39.37 percent of total foreign investments. Syrian entrepreneurs were followed by Iranians with 5.33 percent while the share of German and Iraqi investors stood at 5.03 percent each. The number of foreign-capitalized companies in Istanbul is on the rise in 2016. According to data compiled by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO), the number of foreign partners in the companies that were established in Istanbul in the first quarter of the year surged 25.7 percent and their total registered capital increased 12.1 percent.A total of 1,651 foreign partners established new companies worth TL 335.1 million ($117.6 million) in capital in Istanbul between January and March. A total of 1,313 foreign partners pledged TL 299 million in capital during the same period last year. Saudi Arabian investors, who established a total of 63 companies, ranked first with a share of 24.94 in foreign capital value. They were followed by Syrian, Dutch and German investors.