FDI in Saudi Arabia up 10%, hits $280bn: SAMA

Saudi Arabia is targeting $100 billion in annual FDI by 2030. Shutterstock
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Updated 27 January 2026
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FDI in Saudi Arabia up 10%, hits $280bn: SAMA

RIYADH: Foreign direct investments in Saudi Arabia reached SR1.05 trillion ($280 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025 in what was a 10 percent annual increase, official data showed. 

Figures released by the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, revealed that total foreign investments in the Kingdom increased by 17 percent year on year to reach SR3.2 trillion. 

FDI occurs when a foreign entity invests in a business in another country, gaining a long-term interest and significant influence over its management and operations.

The increase reflects the Kingdom’s broader efforts to attract long-term foreign capital under its Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the economy beyond oil revenues. Under the program, Saudi Arabia is targeting $100 billion in annual FDI by 2030.

SAMA data added that portfolio investments by foreign firms in the Kingdom, which include equity, investment funds, and debt bonds, amounted to SR1.31 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2025, marking an increase of 24 percent compared to the same quarter in the previous year. 

The release also showed that other foreign investments, which include loans, currency, and deposits, as well as other accounts, stood at SR843.56 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 17 percent year on year.

The figures indicated that Saudi Arabia’s total assets stood at SR5.99 trillion during the same period, reflecting a 5 percent rise compared to the third quarter of 2024.

Direct investment abroad reached SR953.66 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 16 percent annually. 

During the same quarter, the Kingdom’s portfolio investments, which include equity and fund investments as well as debt securities, totaled SR1.94 trillion, up around 4 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

Other asset-side investments, including trade credit, loans, currency and deposits, and various other accounts, increased by 8.9 percent year-on-year, reaching SR1.41 trillion in the third quarter.

Reserve assets, including monetary gold, Special Drawing Rights, the reserve position in the Fund, and other reserve assets, reached SR1.68 trillion in the same quarter, reflecting a 1.4 percent decline compared to the previous year.

In December, a report by the General Authority for Statistics revealed that Saudi Arabia’s foreign direct investment net inflows reached SR24.9 billion in the third quarter of 2025, marking a 34.5 percent increase from the same period in 2024.


Work suspended on Riyadh’s massive Mukaab megaproject: Reuters

Updated 27 January 2026
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Work suspended on Riyadh’s massive Mukaab megaproject: Reuters

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has suspended planned construction of a colossal cube-shaped skyscraper at the center of a downtown development in Riyadh while it reassesses the project's financing and feasibility, four people familiar with the matter said.

The Mukaab was planned as a 400-meter by 400-meter metal cube containing a dome with an AI-powered display, the largest on the planet, that visitors could observe from a more than 300-meter-tall ziggurat — or terraced structure —inside it.

Its future is now unclear, with work beyond soil excavation and pilings suspended, three of the people said. Development of the surrounding real estate is set to continue, five people familiar with the plans said.

The sources include people familiar with the project's development and people privy to internal deliberations at the PIF.

Officials from PIF, the Saudi government and the New Murabba project did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimated the New Murabba district would cost about $50 billion — roughly equivalent to Jordan’s GDP — with projects commissioned so far valued at around $100 million.

Initial plans for the New Murabba district called for completion by 2030. It is now slated to be completed by 2040.

The development was intended to house 104,000 residential units and add SR180 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP, creating 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, the government had estimated previously.

(With Reuters)