The UAE has received a 41 per cent share of the foreign direct investment (FDI) projects Arab countries attracted between 2003 and 2021.
According to the Arab Investment Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman), Arab countries have attracted 14,443 foreign projects with a total capex of $1.3 trillion over the last 19 years.
The Kuwait-based corporation said in its 37th annual report that the number of FDI projects into the region rose by 37 per cent and their capex grew by one per cent between 2003 and 2021.
These projects have created approximately two million job opportunities, the report added.
The number of foreign projects into the region rose by 15 per cent, while their capex went up by 86 per cent to $21 billion during the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period of 2021, the corporation’s Director-General Abdullah Al Sabeeh said in the report.
He pointed out that Western Europe was the main investor in the region during 2021, while Saudi Arabia was the top investment destination in terms of capex ($9.3 billion), while the UAE came first in terms of the number of projects (455).
UAE tops UN report
The UAE ranked as the best country in the Arab world for attracting FDI in 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2022.
The UAE remained the largest recipient of FDI with flows increasing from $19.88 billion in 2020, to $20.7 billion.
The report showed that global flows of FDI recovered to pre-pandemic levels last year, reaching $1.58 trillion, an increase of 64 per cent on 2020.
Dubai, meanwhile, ranked first in the world in attracting greenfield foreign direct investment in 2021, with a record number of 418 greenfield projects, data showed last month. The emirate stood third last year.
Dubai ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and third globally, up from fourth place last year, in FDI capital inflows, data showed. In reinvestment FDI projects, Dubai ranked first in the MENA region and third globally (up from fourth place last year), and seventh globally, up from 11th place last year, in FDI capital inflows. As for FDI job creation, Dubai ranked first in the MENA region and fifth globally, up from the sixth place last year.
