UAE largest Arab destination for foreign capital
The UAE attracted more than $35billion (Dh129bn) in foreign direct investment between 1997 and 2006 to become the largest Arab destination for foreign capital, according to official data.
The UAE has also emerged as the second largest Arab capital exporter, with its direct investment outflow totalling around $11bn during that period, the Kuwaiti-based Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGC) said in its 2007 Arab investment report.
The report gave no figures on the UAE for 2007 but showed Saudi Arabia accounted for the bulk of the Arab FDI last year, mostly investments in its petrochemical and construction sectors from the Emirates as well as the West.
During 1997-2006, the cumulative FDI into the UAE totalled $35.02bn, accounting for more than 18 per cent of the total Arab FDI of nearly $188bn, said IAIGC, a key Arab League financial organisation which groups most regional countries.
Saudi Arabia came second, attracting around $34.5bn during 1997-2006, followed by Egypt, with nearly $23.2bn and Lebanon, with $18.07bn.
The UAE was also the second largest capital exporter, with outgoing FDI of around $10.99bn, nearly 26 per cent of the total Arab FDI outflow. Kuwait topped the list, with its exported capital standing at $15.1bn.
Bahrain came third, with an outflow of around $4.6bn, followed by Saudi Arabia, $3.28bn and Qatar, with around $1.06bn.
IAIGC said available data for 12 Arab countries showed their combined incoming FDI jumped by around 161 per cent to $113.7bn in 2007.
Saudi Arabia had the lion's share of those investments, receiving nearly $89bn. FDI was estimated at $11.6bn in Egypt, $3.5bn in Lebanon, $2.8bn in Morocco, $2.2bn in Sudan and around $1.6bn in Tunisia. The other recipients were Jordan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Djibouti and Kuwait.
"The surge in FDI last year was a result of an improvement in the investment climate in most Arab countries, reform programmes, opening up of many sectors to foreign capital and better information about investment opportunities," the report said.
