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With Saudi Arabia opening its doors and diversifying its economy, foreign investments have been rolling into the country. Over the past few years, the kingdom has implemented several reforms that brought investment into the Saudi equities listed in Tadwaul, the largest exchange in the Arab world. 

Earlier this year, the kingdom launched four special economic zones, providing organizations with financial and non-financial incentives to attract more investment into the country.

According to the Ministry of Investment, Saudi Arabia has seen a 22% annual increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022, reaching $33 billion.

This news comes as a part of a change in the methodology endorsed by the International Monetary Fund, used for calculating FDI inflow in the kingdom. Instead of the old method, which used the accumulation of flows based on estimates, the new method involves analyzing individual financial statements to generate more accurate annual numbers. 

“Investors are entering the fast-growing Saudi market with confidence due to its size and strategic position, which provides an excellent platform to access growth opportunities across the Middle East and beyond,” said Khalid Al Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment.

“The updated data, produced under the new methodology, along with our investor outreach programs, will allow us to respond to and calibrate the investment environment to attract and retain even more investors,” he added.

The updated methodology also sees more than 20 new FDI indicators to better guide investors, including FDI stock and inflows by economic activity, source country, and destination country.