Global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased by 14% in 2025, reaching $1.6 trillion. This rise was significantly driven by over $140 billion flowing through various financial hubs, as detailed in the latest UNCTAD report on foreign direct investment.
As per the report, the UAE has emerged alongside Singapore and Hong Kong as a major force in investment within the developing world. Together, these three nations captured more than one-third of the total investment flows directed towards developing countries globally. The UAE was classified as a key driver of global growth, acting as a strategic financial center that facilitated a $140 billion increase in international investments last year.
According to the findings, the UAE was the only nation outside of superpowers to feature prominently across three distinct investment categories, taking the top position in new projects through the MGX Investment Fund, and securing the third and fourth positions in international project financing via Stargate and Masdar, respectively. The UAE also participated in some of the largest cross-border acquisition deals through ADNOC.
UNCTAD highlighted the UAE’s dual role as both a destination and a significant source of large investments. The country took the lead globally with major green projects in advanced technology sectors. Notably, the UAE-based MGX Fund announced plans for the largest institutional investment project of 2025, involving the development of an artificial intelligence campus in France at an estimated cost of $43.4 billion, reinforcing the UAE’s status as a global player in shaping the future of digital infrastructure.
The report also noted that the Stargate project in the UAE ranks as the third largest international project financing deal, with a budget of $20 billion allocated for establishing a state-of-the-art data center for artificial intelligence. This positions the UAE at the core of the data center economy, which alone now accounts for one-fifth of the value of new global projects.
In terms of cross-border transactions, the UAE recorded one of the most significant international acquisitions, with ADNOC purchasing the German company Covestro, specializing in plastic production, for $14.3 billion. Furthermore, national companies continued to expand in the clean energy sector, with Masdar launching a substantial wind and solar energy project in the Philippines valued at $15 billion, contrasting with the global downward trend in financing for international renewable energy projects, which saw a decrease of 7%.
The UAE attracted $20 billion in foreign investments to create the advanced AI data center known as Stargate. (Dubai – Mustafa Darwish)