RIYADH — The Ministry of Investment said that foreign direct investment (FDI) posted a growth of 9.5 percent, reaching SR7.4 billion ($1.97 billion) in the first quarter of 2022 while compared to the same period in 2021. Saudi Arabia turned in a brilliant performance in the global indices and ranked 14th at the level of G20 countries in the FDI flows for the year 2021, the ministry said in a statement on its Twitter account. The statement was based on the findings of the World Investment Report 2022 issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report reflects the competitiveness of the Saudi economy and the development of its investment environment. The ministry pointed out that the Kingdom continues to attract more investments, in light of the improvement of the business environment and the facilitation of the investor's journey. "The foreign direct investment flows achieved a growth of 9.5 percent, amounting to SR7.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 while compared to the same period of the previous year," it said. Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said earlier that comprehensive investments in the Kingdom were amounted to SR900 billion by the end of 2021. "The foreign investment flows have quadrupled since the Kingdom's launching of the Vision 2030 until last year, reaching SR72 billion. The United States acquires the largest chunk of these investments," he said while pointing out that there are investment flows from Japan, Europe and East Asian countries. Al-Falih explained that the energy sector in general is an attractive sector for investments, in addition to petrochemicals, as well as the aviation and defense sector, noting at the same time that the mining sector is very attractive, but it is still in its infancy. It is noteworthy that UNCTAD is the part of the United Nations Secretariat dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. The 2022 edition of UNCTAD's annual World Investment Report monitors global and regional FDI trends and presents key national and international investment policy developments. The report examines cross-border investment flows' recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, looking at greenfield investment in selected industries, project finance in infrastructure, and the largest multinationals' production activities. The report also reviews recent policy developments, including trends in national investment policy measures and international investment agreements. It presents an overview of international corporate taxation and national investment incentive schemes worldwide.
