China and the United States invested more than $23 billion in projects in the Gulf’s two biggest economies last year.

The US more than doubled its “greenfield” foreign direct investment in the UAE to nearly $4 billion, while China’s commitment to Saudi Arabia rose 10-fold to almost $17 billion.

Greenfield FDI involves a foreign entity establishing operations in another country by building facilities from the ground up. It can drive economic growth in the funding destination by creating jobs, transferring knowledge and improving competition.

Research from fDi Markets and Emirates NBD has found that greenfield investment from the US into the UAE increased by 137 percent last year to $3.8 billion. This made the US the Emirates’ top investor. China was placed fifth.

The UAE had 1,280 greenfield FDI projects in 2023, placing it second to the US in global rankings. This was up 36 percent on 2022. It attracted more than $15 billion in total.

Globally, Dubai retained its position as the leading city for number of greenfield FDI projects, beating Singapore and London. It had 1,036 projects, a rise of 32 percent.

Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s biggest economy, attracted greenfield FDI of nearly $29 billion, more than double the total in 2022.

Source: Trade Finance