What to make of Saudi Arabia's $96B in foreign direct investment in 2023
Driving foreign investment into key sectors is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify away from an oil-dependent revenue model.
Saudi Arabia's foreign direct investment reached 96 billion riyals ($25.6 billion) in 2023, a 19% decline year-on-year from 2022, but still higher than analysts’ expectations, data from the Ministry of Investment show.
The total FDI stock, which refers to the total level of direct cross-border investment over time, reached 898 billion riyals ($239 billion) in 2023, a 13% increase over the previous year.
Saudi Arabia's manufacturing industry saw the largest volume of FDI in 2023 with 259 billion riyals ($69 billion) flowing into the sector, marking a 21% increase year-on-year.
Wholesale and retail trade was the next big beneficiary of FDI at 134 billion riyals ($35.7 billion), followed by financial and insurance activities at 112 billion riyals ($30 billion).
