New Delhi, March 11
India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) into Dubai surged to $3.018 billion in 2024 -- a five times jump from $589 million in 2023, making the country the top investor in Dubai, a report showed on Tuesday.
India, the US, France and the UK were top source countries for FDI into the emirate.
India was the top source country with the highest total estimated FDI capital into Dubai, accounting for 21.5 per cent, followed by the US (13.7 per cent), France (11 per cent), United Kingdom (10 per cent), and Switzerland (6.9 per cent), according to Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism’s Dubai FDI Monitor.
While Greenfield FDI projects in 2024 was at par with 2023 performance of 73.5 per cent, reinvestment FDI projects increased in 2024 to 3.3 per cent from 1.2 per cent in 2023.
The number of announced Indian FDI projects also increased to 275 from 249 in 2023. This pushed India from third to second place in project count rankings.
According to the report, India’s investments were concentrated in key sectors, with Business Services accounting for 26.9 per cent of projects, followed by Software & IT Services (23.6 per cent), Consumer Products (9.8 per cent), Food & Beverages (8.4 per cent), and Real Estate (6.9 per cent).
Real estate dominated with a 51.4 per cent share, followed by Hotels and Tourism (9.5 per cent), Transportation and Warehousing (8.4 per cent), Business Services (6.4 per cent), and Consumer Products (6.2 per cent).
Dubai ranked world’s top destination for attracting Greenfield FDI for fourth successive year. Total estimated FDI capital surged by 33.2 per cent, the highest single-year value recorded since 2020.
In 2024, Dubai attracted AED 52.3 billion ($14.24 billion) in estimated FDI capital, a 33.2 per cent increase from AED 39.26 billion ($10.69 billion) in 2023, marking the highest FDI value ever recorded in a single year for the emirate since 2020.
Dubai attracted a record-breaking 1,117 Greenfield FDI projects in 2024, the highest in its history. Dubai also achieved a historic milestone in FDI attraction with 1,826 announced FDI projects, an 11 per cent increase from 1,650 projects in 2023, said the report.
“The city’s ranking as the world’s No.1 destination for attracting Greenfield FDI for the fourth consecutive year is a testament to its ability not only to set new global benchmarks for sustained, rapid growth but also to continuously evolve its investment proposition in response to changes sweeping the international market,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.