Egypt tops the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in mega projects in 2022, according to fDi Markets, the investment monitor of the Financial Times.

The country attracted more than $96.8 billion in 2022 – about three times that of its previous record of $34.9 billion in 2016. The number of FDI projects in Egypt surged by more than 150% to 148 in 2022, representing an estimated capital investment of $107 billion and a 41% market share in the MEA region.

The surge in the capital can be credited to 17 green hydrogen projects, accounting for 97% of Egypt’s inbound capital investment in 2022.

The pace of FDI in 2022 indicates improvement, with the number of projects increasing by 16% and the pledged capital investment rising by 64% from 2021, the report said.

By a number of FDI projects, it grew from an average of 3.5 mega projects from 2013-2021 to 19 mega investments in 2022, with Egypt ranking second to the US.

According to the data, 159 large FDI projects worth at least $1 billion were announced globally in 2022.

As for the Middle East and Africa region, announced FDI projects increased by 54% to 2,131 since 2021. Capital investment into the region rose by 234%, reaching $261.2 billion.

In 2021, FDI projects in the region were 879, which increased to 1,397 in 2022 – this represents a growth of 61% in 2021 and a market share of 8.7% of FDI projects globally.

UAE retains its spot as an attractive destination for projects in the region in 2022, with 879 projects announced and a 71% increase from 2021. The country also accounted for 41% of FDI projects in the MEA and 15% of jobs created in the region.