In an impressive testament to its economic strategy, the United Arab Emirates has made a significant leap to the 8th position on Kearney’s 2024 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index® (FDICI), up from 18th place in 2023, and now stands 2nd on the Emerging Market Index after China. The FDICI, now in its 26th iteration, continues to be an authoritative forecast of global FDI trends, with the UAE’s advancements reflecting its successful drive to diversify its economy and solidify its position as a strategic regional hub on the global stage.
The UAE’s multifaceted economy has witnessed extraordinary growth across key sectors that have thrived as a direct result of the nation’s diversification policies. This is reflected in the increase in FDI inflows from $20.7 billion in 2021 to $22.7 billion in 2022, representing 60% of the total FDI attracted to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Rudolph Lohmeyer, Partner at National Transformations Institute, Kearney Middle East, said: “The UAE’s remarkable ongoing rise in Kearney’s 2024 FDI Confidence Index 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. Its higher ranking reflects growing investor confidence driven by the UAE’s sustained track record of policy reform. The UAE’s demonstrated resilience, state-of-the-art infrastructure, robust capital markets, and a thriving tech ecosystem, enable it to offer a uniquely attractive value proposition for global investors, even in the context of intense global competition for investment.”
The UAE’s attractiveness to global investors reflects the country’s comprehensive efforts to create an optimal business environment, including by building an exceptional technology environment which is fueling investment in sectors including fintech, e-commerce, agritech, logistics, ICT, and renewable energy.
Further driving the UAE’s investment appeal is its world-class infrastructure, a feature that not only facilitates business operations but also enhances the quality of life. The nation’s commitment to infrastructure development is a cornerstone of its appeal to high-value industries and plays a pivotal role in its sustained economic momentum.
To view the full 2024 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index® (FDICI) visit: https://www.kearney.com/foreign-direct-investment-confidence-index
About the 2024 Kearney FDI Confidence Index®
The Kearney FDI Confidence Index® is an annual survey of global business executives that ranks markets that are likely to attract the most investment in the next three years. In contrast to other backward-looking data on FDI flows, the FDICI provides unique forward-looking analysis of the markets that investors intend to target for FDI in the coming years. Since the FDICI’s inception in 1998, the markets ranked on the Index have tracked closely with the top destinations for actual FDI flows in subsequent years.
The 2024 Kearney FDI Confidence Index® is constructed using primary data from a proprietary survey of senior executives of the world’s leading corporations. The survey was conducted in January 2024. Respondents include C-level executives and regional and business leaders. All participating companies have annual revenues of $500 million or more. The companies are headquartered in 30 countries and span all sectors. Service-sector firms account for 46 percent of respondents, industrial firms for 45 percent, and IT firms for 9 percent.
The Index is calculated as a weighted average of the number of high, medium, and low responses to questions on the likelihood of making a direct investment in a select market over the next three years. Together, the markets presented to respondents in the survey received 95 percent of the world’s inward FDI flows in 2022, according to UNCTAD data.
Index values are based on responses only from companies headquartered in foreign markets. For example, the Index value for the United States was calculated without responses from US-headquartered investors. Higher Index values indicate more attractive investment targets.
All economic growth figures presented in the report are the latest estimates and forecasts available from Oxford Economics unless otherwise noted. Other secondary sources include investment promotion agencies, central banks, ministries of finance and trade, relevant news media, and other major data sources.
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