UAE holds onto global greenfield FDI crown: The UAE was once again the strongest performer worldwide for greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to its GDP in 2024, according to fDi Intelligence’s ’s Greenfield FDI Performance Index 2025. The country recorded a score of 14.26, meaning it secured more than 14 times the volume of FDI anticipated for an economy of its size.

What the score means: A score above 1.0 indicates the country attracted more FDI than its share of global GDP, while a score below 1.0 indicates it attracted less.

Who’s behind the UAE? Namibia came second with a score of 7.95, followed by Costa Rica (6.16) and Monaco (5.90). Regionally, Bahrain ranked fifth (5.84), Qatar 12th (4.70), Oman 36th (2.4) and Saudi Arabia 47th (2), according to another section of the report.

Project volumes: The UAE ranked second globally for inbound projects after the US, with activity rising 1.8% y-o-y in 2024.

Sectors in focus: Business services, technology, and financial services drew the largest number of projects. Other sectors with notable growth included transport and warehousing, communications, and consumer goods. AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing remained major drivers of investment into the UAE.

What’s driving it: A mix of pro-investment regulation, political stability, open diplomatic ties with East and West, and long-term residency programs (golden and green visas) are helping the country maintain its edge.

REMEMBER- The value of UAE greenfield FDI projects fell 33% y-o-y to USD 14.5 bn in 2024, accounting for 36% of GCC projects, trailing only Saudi Arabia, while the number of projects rose 2%. Dubai topped the global list for greenfield FDI project destinations in 2024, drawing in AED 52.3 bn in capital, and maintained its lead in greenfield FDI in cultural and creative industries for the third consecutive year.

The momentum has continued this year: The UAE attracted USD 5.4 bn in greenfield FDI across 613 projects, according to a report by Emirates NBD. Big AI projects, including G42 and OpenAI’s Stargate UAE and Microsoft and Core42’s plans to build sovereign AI cloud infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, were among several major projects secured during the period. The UAE has set a target of AED 1.3 tn in FDI inflows between 2025 and 2031.

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