The value of its announced greenfield FDI projects fell 28% y-o-y in 2024 to USD 22 bn, reaching its third-highest level on record, according to a report (pdf) from Emirates NBD. The communications sector led in project value, followed by renewables, metals, and electronic components.

Top investors: Most of FDI during the year came from China, the UK, US, and UAE. China’s total contribution fell sharply to USD 5.8 bn from USD 17 bn, normalizing after a sharp tick in 2023 that saw several large-scale projects announced. China still accounted for the second and fourth largest investments during 2024, with Zhuoyue New Energy investing USD 3.5 bn in biofuels production, and JinkoSolar allocating USD 1 bn for a solar cell and module plant, according to the report.

The single largest investment came from the Seattle-based Amazon Web Services’ USD 5.3bn investment into cloud infrastructure. Meanwhile, the UK’s Vedanta committed USD 2 bn for copper projects in the Kingdom.

Saudi’s FDI push: The Kingdom is targeting USD 100 bn in foreign direct investment per year as part of Vision 2030, after averaging USD 17 bn per year between 2017-2022 and managing to bring in an estimated USD 19 bn in 2023.

REGIONALLY- The GCC saw a 26% y-o-y decline in the total value of greenfield FDI projects in 2024, despite the number of projects announced inching up by around 1%. In terms of total value of projects, Saudi took the top spot, accounting for 54%, followed by the UAE at 36%.

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