Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH —The balance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia jumped to SR762 billion ($203.2 billion) by the end of 2022, compared to 2021 when it reached SR659 billion ($175.7 billion).

The Annual Foreign Direct Investment for 2022 data, released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), showed that the inflow of foreign direct investment to the Saudi economy recorded a growth of about 20 percent during the year 2022, reaching SR123 billion ($32.8 billion), compared to 2021.

The outflows of foreign direct investment for companies residing in the Saudi economy recorded a growth rate of 12 percent, reaching SR17 billion ($4.5 billion) compared to 2021. Saudi Arabia has achieved significant growth in net foreign direct investment flows during the year 2022, reaching SR105 billion ($28 billion) in 2022, compared to SR87 billion ($23.2 billion) in 2021.

Transformative industries recorded the highest contribution to the total FDI balance by the end of 2022, with a value of SR239 billion ($63.7 billion), with a contribution of 31 percent of the total balances.

In a related context, the “Foreign Direct Investment for the Third Quarter of 2023” data revealed that the value of net foreign direct investment flows in the Kingdom amounted to SR11 billion ($2.9 billion), a decrease of 10 percent, during the third quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of the same year, when it amounted to about SR13 billion ($3.4 billion), an increase of 26 percent, compared to the first quarter of 2023, when it accounted for SR9 billion ($2.4 billion).

The value of foreign investment flows, out of the Kingdom’s economy, during the third quarter of 2022 amounted to about SR5 billion ($1.33 billion), a decrease of 22.5 percent, compared to the second quarter of the same year, which amounted to SR7 billion ($1.8 billion).

The value of foreign direct investment flows, into the Kingdom’s economy, decreased by 14.4 percent, with a value of about SR17 billion ($4.5 billion), during the third quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of the same year, which amounted to about SR19 billion ($5.06 billion).