Dubai maintained its position as the world’s top city for attracting greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in the first half of the year, a report said, citing Financial Times Ltd’s ‘fDi Markets’ data.

Underscoring its competitiveness and appeal to international investors, Dubai attracted 508 Greenfield FDI projects from January to June 2024, representing a 6.2% global share, growing from 5.7% in the same period last year, Emirates News Agency, WAM, said.

Ranked ahead of major financial hubs such as London, Singapore and New York City, Dubai has now held the top global position in attracting greenfield FDI projects for six consecutive half-year periods since the second half of 2021.

In H1 2024, Dubai was No 1 across a range of sectors, including tourism, real estate, artificial intelligence, headquarters, logistics and fintech, further solidifying its position as a global investment centre.

Dubai rose three spots globally from sixth to third place for attracting Greenfield FDI capital in H1 2024, and from third to first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, compared to H1 2023.

Overall, in the first half of the year, a total of 801 FDI projects valued at AED21.85 billion were announced in Dubai, compared to AED20.30 billion across 803 projects in the same period in 2023, according to Dubai FDI Monitor data. This includes greenfield FDI, new forms of investments (NFIs), mergers & acquisitions, reinvestments, VC-backed FDI and greenfield joint ventures.

Total estimated FDI capital increased by 8% in H1 2024, compared to H1 2023, demonstrating Dubai’s continued attractiveness for higher-value investments.

For jobs created through inward FDI, Dubai ranked fifth globally in H1 2024 and continued to hold the top position in the MENA region.

According to Dubai FDI Monitor data, Dubai experienced a surge in talent attraction across key sectors such as food and beverages, business services, software and IT services, textiles, consumer products and financial services.

In terms of investment types for FDI projects into Dubai, new forms of investments (NFIs), VC-backed FDI and reinvestment FDI projects increased by 5.5% , 3.6 percent and 0.7% respectively.

NFIs, also referred to as non-equity modes of investments, demonstrate the level of domestic market maturity in Dubai and the diverse non-equity-based partnership opportunities across joint ventures, strategic alliances, sub-contracting, licensing, production sharing, franchising and turnkey projects in the market.

Dubai FDI Monitor data revealed that the top five source countries by FDI capital accounted for 67.1% of the total estimated flows in H1 2024, while the top five source countries accounted for 50.2% by FDI projects.

India was the source country with the highest total estimated FDI capital into Dubai, accounting for 19.9 percent, followed by Switzerland (19.6%), United States (12%), United Kingdom (8.3%) and France (7.4%).

In terms of total announced FDI projects, the United Kingdom led the way with 15.4%, followed by India (13.7%), United States (12.7%), Italy (4.2%) and France (4.2%).

Meanwhile, the top five sectors accounted for 57.4 percent of total estimated FDI capital flows into Dubai and 68.6% of total announced FDI projects, according to Dubai FDI Monitor data.

Based on FDI capital, the leading sectors were building and materials (17.3%), software and IT services (14.3%), hotels and tourism (10.2%), real estate (9.5%) and automotive original equipment manufacturers (6.1%), while the top sectors based on FDI projects were business services (19.4%), software and IT services (15.2%), food and beverages (14.1%), textiles (11.8%) and consumer products (8.1%).