Saudi Arabia’s net foreign direct investment increased by 44% in the first quarter of 2025, hitting SR22.2 billion ($5.9 billion), owing to stronger inflows and considerably lower capital outflows. According to data from the General Authority for Statistics, this compares to SR15.5 billion in the same period last year. However, it represented a 7% decrease from the SR24 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Gross inflows totalled SR24 billion in Q1 2025, up 24% year-on-year, while outflows dropped to SR1.8 billion, a 54% decrease from Q1 2024. The reduced difference between inflows and outflows demonstrates the Kingdom’s investment resilience amidst economic transformation.
Saudi Arabia rose to the 13th rank in Kearney’s 2025 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index in April, indicating increased global investor confidence. Several global corporations, including Dell Technologies, PepsiCo, and Schneider Electric, have increased their presence in Riyadh to comply with new localisation regulations and benefit from the $1.1 trillion gigaproject pipeline. Globally, FDI trends are subdued.
According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, inward FDI to Saudi Arabia fell 31% in 2024, while outflows increased 27.1%, owing to trade tensions and declining investor sentiment globally.
