Dubai leads the ranking of cities that attract the most foreign investment projects

A new report by the Investment Development Agency of Dubai (DFDI) shows the great benefits that the city has had in recent times. According to the document, the city currently tops the world's foreign direct investment (FDI) rankings for the financial services sector. This is because the city has managed to attract 58 new projects of this kind.

With this ranking, Dubai has once again established itself as the world's largest financial centre. Thanks to the leadership of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the emirate has raised a total of 926.20 million dirhams for 58 FDI projects. It thus surpasses the usual top cities such as London, Singapore, New York and Paris, allowing the development of Middle Eastern countries, and especially the UAE, to finally begin to be appreciated. 

"The confidence of the global financial services industry and the business community at large in the DIFC allows us to consistently facilitate significant foreign direct investment in Dubai," confirmed Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of the DIFC.

The DIFC stresses that the emirate has been a leader in this sector for years. Since 2017, Dubai has ranked first thanks to its performance in attracting FDI in the financial services sector.

"The centre's commitment to further differentiate itself as the region's leading global financial centre, positioned alongside other global cities, reflects our commitment to continuously evolve our existing world-class business enabling ecosystem, legal and regulatory framework and innovation proposition to attract businesses from around the world," added Amiri.

The data obtained in 2021 confirms the emirate's international leadership. According to the Dubai FDI Results & Rankings Highlights Report 2021, this is due to the fact that the country has recovered from the pandemic. But, in addition, the data also shows that Dubai is the third largest city in terms of job creation, with 1,432 jobs created during the year. It also ranked fifth in terms of FDI capital generated. 
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In particular, greenfield projects (freehold investments) accounted for the majority of FDI. These accounted for 84% of all projects, up from 81% in previous years. On the other hand, reinvestment projects accounted for 9% and joint venture projects for 2% of the total. These have also grown over time, having previously accounted for 9% and 1% respectively.

"Despite the challenges the world has faced in recent years, the pandemic and economic changes, Dubai has provided a strong and sustainable investment environment. Dubai's top ranking for FDI is a testament to its strong fundamentals and the confidence that investors and multinationals have in this region," said Fahad al-Gerwagi, director of DFDI. He also highlighted the organisation's innovative infrastructure as a contributor to the good data due to its economic stability. 

An investment powerhouse 

Between 2017 and 2021, the DIFC has managed to attract a total of 184 projects to the city of Dubai. Thanks to this, the Emirates has been able to benefit from these achievements as these projects are worth Dh5.2 billion. It is worth mentioning that these projects have managed to reduce the number of unemployed in the country and according to the Financial Times' fDi Markets data on these greenfield projects, it has provided around 5,727 jobs in this sector.

The DIFC's wise leadership is framed under the DIFC Strategy 2030 programme. This plan, developed by the institution, aims to continue to position Dubai as a global hub for financial institutions, Fintech companies and innovative businesses. In the near future, the plan is to boost and double the city's economic GDP thanks to this data.