Dubai reports Dhs15.9bn of FDI in the first nine months of 2021

Dubai attracted Dhs15.9bn of FDI capital inflow from 378 projects in the first nine months of 2021, according to newly released data.

The data was shared on Monday by the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai.

The latest figures place Dubai third position globally as attracting greenfield foreign direct investment capital and projects and for FDI into reinvestment projects.

FDI reinvestment projects accounted for 11 per cent of the total FDI projects in the emirate.

FDI job creation witnessed a significant growth of 36 per cent during the first nine months of 2021 compared to the corresponding period in 2020. There were 16,430 new jobs were created compared to 12,090 jobs in the same period the previous year.

#Dubai ranks first in the Arab world and third globally in FDI attraction. The City attracted about AED 16 billion of FDI capital inflow from 378 projects in the first nine months of 2021. https://t.co/bYETTZhbby pic.twitter.com/zDCIaYBgG0

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 30, 2022

The total number of FDI projects increased by 16 per cent from 326 in the first nine months of 2020 to 378 in the corresponding period of 2021.

As much as 58 per cent of the inbound FDI is in strategic sectors and 52 per cent is in greenfield projects.

High- and medium-technology investments comprise 64 per cent of inbound FDI capital, with an increase of 2 per cent over the first nine months in 2020.

FDI source countries according to ‘Dubai FDI Monitor’ puts the UK at the top with 29 per cent of FDI capital inflows into Dubai during the first nine months of 2021, followed by France with 19 per cent, the US at 14 per cent, Saudi Arabia at 6 per cent, and India at 4 per cent.

These five countries together accounted for 72 per cent of the total capital inflow into Dubai. In terms of the number of FDI projects, the UK ranked first with 20 per cent, followed by the US at 19 per cent, India at 11 per cent, France at 6 per cent, and Germany at 5 per cent.

“Dubai has continued to introduce and implement initiatives that improve business confidence. Initiatives such as full foreign ownership, an evolving visa administration, and the alignment of the work week with global markets demonstrate Dubai and the UAE’s responsiveness to business needs,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.

Over the entire of 2020, Dubai recorded Dhs24.7bn worth of FDI across 455 projects. Over the same period, FDI inflows to the whole of the UAE grew 44.2 per cent to $19.88bn compared to 2019.