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Total foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the UAE for greenfields reached USD 30.69 bn in 2023, up 35% y-o-y, according to the UN Trade and Development’s (Unctad) 2024 World Investment Report (pdf). The country’s FDI outflows dropped by 10% y-o-y to USD 22.33 bn during the year, while its FDI outflow stock grew 9% y-o-y to USD 262.21 bn in the same period.
This is higher than previous estimates: Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said in January that total FDI flows into the UAE reached USD 23 bn in 2023.
REMEMBER- The UAE was second only to the US as a destination for foreign investment in greenfields in 2023, rising two spots from its ranking the previous year, Unctad said earlier this year. The country announced over 1.3k greenfield FDI projects during the year, up 33% y-o-y, Unctad previously said.
SOUND SMART- A greenfield project is an investment in which something new is created from the ground up, such as setting up a factory or hospital on undeveloped land. Brownfield projects, in comparison, are investments in existing structures, like adding a production line to an existing factory or upgrading a purchased facility.
