Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia grew 6.2% in the first nine months of 2023 to reach SAR 52.9 billion, according to Invest Saudi.

The figure excludes the BlackRock deal, which accounted for SAR 58.1 billion in 2022. FDI stock grew by 1.4% in the third quarter of 2023, and a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2022, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

The new FDI data provides a much more accurate picture of foreign investment entering the country. The Saudi authorities, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), developed a new methodology for calculating FDI statistics. The updated statistics offer comprehensive insights into FDI stock, inflow, outflow, and net inflow across various indicators, reflecting the kingdom's progress under Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Investment Strategy.

The new methodology adds, for the first time, a new global standard to enhance governance levels and improve the quality of transparency in the statistical data and information for calculating FDI indicators.

FDI inflows, under the new methodology, were calculated at SAR 122 billion (USDv33 billion) in 2022, nearly double from 2015 figures, and paving the way for SaudivvArabia to be ranked 10th among G20 economies, new offcial data shows.

As Saudi Vision 2030 programmes rolled out, FDI inflows recorded an average growth of 51.9% from 2016 to 2022, according to the new methodology.

“Most FDI inflow originated from several sectors such as manufacturing, transportation and storage, and construction by 27.5%, 15.1%, and 14.7%, respectively, of the total FDI inflow,” according to the Ministry of Investment, highlighting the kingdom’s effective investment ecosystem.

Among G20 nations, the highest FDI inflows in 2022 came from the United States. with SAR 9 billion, followed by Japan with SAR 6 billion, France with SAR 5 billion, the United Kingdom with SAR 4 billion, and South Korea with SAR 3 billion.