The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation “DHAMAN” revealed that foreign direct investment inflows to Arab countries increased by 2.5 percent to reach $40.5 billion by the end of the 2020 pandemic year.
According to the Corporation's annual report on the investment climate in the Arab countries, these investments represented 6.1 percent of the total inflows to developing countries, and four percent of the total international flows amounting to about $999 billion during the same year.
It also showed the continued geographical concentration of incoming flows to Arab countries, as the first five countries accounted for 95 percent of the total inflows. The UAE came first with $19.9 billion, followed by Egypt with $5.9 billion, Saudi Arabia with $5.5 billion, Oman with $4.1 billion, and finally Lebanon with $3.1 billion.
With regard to geographical distribution, North America was at the forefront of the most important investors in the region in terms of cost, led by the United States, which contributed 22.4 percent of the total investments. These projects were geographically concentrated in the UAE with 347 projects and in Saudi Arabia with an investment cost of $10.4 billion.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
