India's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dubai experienced a remarkable surge in 2024, hitting $3.018 billion—a fivefold jump from $589 million during the same period last year—to rank India as the largest investor in the emirate, said a report published on Tuesday.
The United States, France, and the United Kingdom were other top sources of FDI into Dubai, together with India.
India was the leader in having the highest estimated FDI capital inflow and covered 21.5 percent of the total, followed by the US (13.7 percent), France (11 percent), the UK (10 percent), and Switzerland (6.9 percent), according to figures released by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism's Dubai FDI Monitor.
Though the proportion of Greenfield FDI projects in 2024 was in line with the 73.5 percent of the previous year, reinvestment FDI projects recorded significant growth, from 1.2 percent in 2023 to 3.3 percent in 2024.
Indian FDI projects in Dubai also increased, reaching 275 from 249 in 2023. This increase pushed India to second position from third in the world project numbers ranking.
The study noted that Indian investments were sector-focused in leading industries, led by Business Services at 26.9 percent of all projects. It was followed by Software & IT Services (23.6 percent), Consumer Products (9.8 percent), Food & Beverages (8.4 percent), and Real Estate (6.9 percent).
As far as capital investment allocation is concerned, Real Estate took the highest proportion at 51.4 percent, then came Hotels and Tourism at 9.5 percent, Transportation and Warehousing at 8.4 percent, Business Services at 6.4 percent, and Consumer Products at 6.2 percent.
For the fourth year running, Dubai continued to be the world's number one destination for Greenfield FDI attraction. The emirate saw a significant 33.2 percent jump in total estimated FDI capital, the largest single-year figure since 2020.
Dubai's projected FDI capital inflows in 2024 totaled AED 52.3 billion ($14.24 billion), a considerable increase from AED 39.26 billion ($10.69 billion) in 2023, the largest annual FDI value posted since 2020.
Also, Dubai set a new record by welcoming 1,117 Greenfield FDI projects—the largest in its history. The announced FDI projects grew by 11 percent to reach 1,826 in 2024, up from 1,650 in 2023.
"The city's position as the world's No.1 destination for receiving Greenfield FDI for the fourth year in a row is a reflection of its capacity not only to establish new global standards for long-term, high-speed growth but also to ever-innovate its investment offer in reaction to trends rolling across the global market," said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
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