Syrian business people invest $360M in Turkey

Syrian businessmen have invested more than $360 million in Turkey, a report by the Istanbul-based Economists' Platform has revealed.

The platform, which also runs a "Program for Improving Syrian People's Conditions," explored in its report the contributions Syrian immigrants have made to the Turkish economy over the last six years.

The report claimed that almost 800 new companies were founded with Syrian partnership until 2016 and that figure hit approximately 1,000 in the first six months of 2017. It also predicted that more than 2,000 companies will be founded by Syrians this year.

It pointed out the fact that Syrian businessmen have continued to invest in Turkey over the years. They invested more than $90 million in 2014, $84 million in 2015, $80 million in 2016 and $45 million in the first half of 2017, taking the total investment since 2014 to $360 million.

Syrian companies, with more than 6,322 new enterprises, accounted for almost 14 percent of all companies founded using foreign capital in Turkey since 2011. The businesses, on average, invested more than $57,000 in Turkey.

The report also found that the share of Syrians in the total number of foreign workers was at 12.4 percent. At least 7,053 Syrians received a work permit last year.

"After a migration of such scale, a number of Syrian enterprises have helped their own citizens find jobs and continue living in Turkey. These businesses have also made clear contributions to the Turkish economy," the report concluded.