4.8% FDI drop in Saudi Arabia last year

RIYADH: Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia stood at $7.6 billion last year compared to $8 billion in 2014, a decrease of 4.8 percent, a local economic daily said on Sunday.
Quoting a spokeswoman of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),” the paper said that M&A cross-border sales in Saudi Arabia rose during the same period by 300 percent, from $200 million in 2014 to $800 million in 2015.
FDI jumped by 36 percent globally in 2015 to reach an estimated $1.7 trillion, the highest level of investment flow since the global economic slowdown seen in 2008-2009.
The report said that the Russian economy witnessed the biggest drop among countries by 92 percent.
FDI flows to developing countries in Asia have exceeded half a trillion dollars, an increase of 15 percent, to remain the largest regional recipient of investment in the world, surpassing the European Union and North America, according to the preliminary report of UNCTAD.
The initial report addresses 150 of the world economies’ estimated data on their investments part of 2015, specifically until the last data received from member states until Jan. 15, 2016.
The EU and the US have recorded the strongest growth in investment flows in 2015, reaching the second highest level in history at $936 billion.