The UAE has vaulted to 8th position in the 2024 Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, a stunning leap from 18th place last year, placing it among the world’s top hubs for investment.
The ranking in Kearney’s index, which surveys corporate executives on where they plan to invest, underscores the success of the UAE’s economic diversification drive.
Foreign direct investment flows expanded to $22.7 billion in 2022, accounting for 60 percent of FDI to Gulf nations.
The UAE’s ongoing rise in the index’s rankings is a “clear reflection of its visionary leadership and decisive push towards economic diversification, which have firmly cemented the UAE’s position as a magnet for global investment,” said Rudolph Lohmeyer, Kearney’s head of the National Transformations Institute.
“Its higher ranking reflects growing investor confidence driven by the UAE’s sustained track record of policy reform.”
The government’s drive to strengthen the business climate, including its nurturing of a thriving tech startup scene, has made the country increasingly appealing to overseas capital. The UAE now ranks as the second most attractive emerging market after China.
While economic diversification has been a priority for years, the strategy has gained momentum since the 2014 oil price crash. The government has overhauled policies to make the UAE more attractive for industries from renewable energy to tourism.
The rise in the FDI index, now in its 26th year, provides authoritative support for the UAE’s diversification drive. As the country bolsters fundamentals like infrastructure, it appears poised for even stronger investment inflows.
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