Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE ranked first among the Arab countries in attracting the foreign direct investments (DFI) during 2016, acquiring 29% of the total, at a value of $9 billion, according to an analytical study by the UAE Ministry of Economy.

The FDI’s inflows to the UAE increased 2.2% to reach $9 billion in 2016, compared to $8.8 billion during 2015, the ministry added, citing the world investment report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD).

The UNCTAD’s report ranked the UAE 12th in the list of promising economies in the period between 2017 and 2019.

FDI accumulated credit in the UAE surged 8.2% reaching $117.9 billion by the end of 2016, compared to $109 billion by the end of the previous year, the report said, indicating that the rise was due to the increasing investments in manufacturing industries, heavy industries as aluminum, petrochemicals, and in the tourism and aviation sectors.

The UAE acquired 26.5% of FDI credit to the GCC region until the end of 2016.

The UAE ranked first among GCC nations after acquiring 50.2% of the FDI’s inflows to the GCC at a value of $17.9 billion in 2016.