Saudi Arabia recorded 9.5% increase year on year in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows during the first three months of 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment (MISA) said on Twitter on Tuesday.
The FDI inflows were at 7.4 billion riyals ($1.97 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, the ministry added.
MISA also said the increased inflows were helped by 101 closed investment deals at an expected value of SAR 15.2 billion ($4 billion).
Nominal capital formation growth rate reached 27.1%, MISA said, citing GASTAT.
The increase is a positive sign for Saudi Arabia and its drive to diversify its economy as part of its Vision 2030 blueprint for modernization.
The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia’s investment minister, HE Khalid Al-Falih, is in Washington for talks to boost investment into the Kingdom. Al-Falih met with a group of companies at an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and shared a photo to Twitter after a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud.
Last month, Al-Falih told Bloomberg the Kingdom is open to investments across the board, and that the delivery against Vision 2030 is ahead of schedule.
