Egypt's second most attractive FDI destination in the Arab world in 2020

The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Arab States ran counter to expectations and rose 2.5% to $40.5 billion in 2020 as stated by the Kuwait-based Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation “Dhaman”.

In a press release regarding the release of the Arab Investment Climate Annual Report 2021, the Foundation said that these investments accounted for 6.1% of total inflows to developing countries and 4% of total global flows of about $ 999 billion over the same year.

The report mentioned that the geographical concentration of inflows to the Arab States continued, with the first five countries accounting for 95%of total flows.

The United Arab Emirates came first with $19.9 billion, followed by Egypt with $5.9 billion, Saudi Arabia with $5.5 billion, Oman with $4.1 billion and Lebanon with $3.1 billion.

"Overall, the investment climate in the Arab States has been negatively affected by events and circumstances in the region, taking into account the repercussions of the new Coronavirus and the associated actions," said Abdullah Sabih, the corporation’s Director-General.

The statement said that the business services, software and fintech services sectors came in the first three consecutive positions of such investments with a 50% share of the total number of businesses.

The report revealed that intra-Arab investment projects declined by 42% over the same period.