Dubai's $8.82 Billion Greenfield FDI Keeps AI And Manufacturing In View

Dubai Holds Its Greenfield FDI Lead

Dubai attracted Dh32.4 billion ($8.82 billion) in greenfield foreign direct investment in 2025, giving the emirate another capital-flow marker as it tries to turn the D33 strategy into company formation, jobs and technology-sector depth.

The Dubai Government Media Office said the emirate drew 1,253 greenfield projects during the year, up 10.5 per cent from the previous year.

It cited Financial Times FDI Markets data showing Dubai accounted for 7 per cent of global greenfield FDI projects and remained the top destination for those inflows for a fifth straight year.

The jobs figure gives the investment data a practical measure.

Dubai said the 2025 projects created nearly 39,000 jobs, a signal that the emirate is still using foreign investment policy to pull companies into physical operations rather than only headquarters registration or portfolio capital.

Project Count Rose While Value Fell From 2024

Greenfield FDI means companies establish operations in another country by building new structures.

Dubai's 1,253 projects in 2025 surpassed the 1,117 recorded in 2024, but the capital value moved in the opposite direction.

The 2024 value was Dh52.3 billion, which was up by a third from 2023.

The latest Dh32.4 billion total therefore shows a larger number of projects at a lower aggregate value, making project quality, sector mix and job creation more important than the headline inflow alone.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said the ranking also placed Dubai No 1 in key sectors including manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

The statement did not break out how much of the 2025 capital went specifically into AI or manufacturing projects.

D33 Gives The FDI Data A Policy Target

Dubai is using the FDI figures against the D33 economic agenda, which aims to double the size of the emirate's economy to Dh32 trillion over the next decade and place Dubai among the top three global cities.

The government has linked that ambition to programmes designed to attract overseas companies and support local entrepreneurship.

Earlier this month, Dubai unveiled SME in a Box, a programme meant to help small and medium companies get started faster and at lower cost.

Dubai has attracted nearly Dh427 billion in FDI inflows since 2015, according to the government's Dubai FDI Monitor.

About 57 per cent of those inflows were earmarked for medium and high technology sectors, giving the emirate a source-backed technology signal without turning every investment announcement into an AI story.

Competitiveness Rankings Add A Wider UAE Frame

The investment data also lands as the UAE is trying to keep a broader competitiveness advantage.

The International Institute for Management Development listed the UAE as the world's fifth most competitive nation.

The same report gave the country top global marks across economic performance, bureaucracy, government-policy adaptability, employment, international experience, national culture, and attitudes and values.

Those indicators matter for investors weighing regional offices, factories, technology operations and hiring plans.

Dubai's latest FDI statement gives strong project and job numbers, but it leaves one important split unstated: how much of the Dh32.4 billion in 2025 greenfield capital went into artificial intelligence, manufacturing and other medium or high technology sectors.