Qatar ranks first among the world’s top destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI), owing to its strong economic and investment momentum into 2023, the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) has announced.
Citing the newly released ‘FDI Standouts Watchlist 2023’ by fDi Intelligence, IPA Qatar said major economies from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region led by Qatar, India (South Asia), and Morocco, are expected to carry the strongest investment momentum into this year.
Another four Mena countries feature in the top 10: Oman (fourth), Saudi Arabia (sixth), Egypt (seventh) and the UAE (tenth). Europe is also represented in the top 10, with Ireland and Greece in fifth and ninth, respectively. Singapore is in eighth position, and is the only south-east Asian country among the 10 best performers, fDI Intelligence reported.
The report analyses the macroeconomic and foreign direct investment (FDI) trajectory of the world’s top 50 FDI destinations, using data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign investment monitor fDi Markets.
It stated that “Qatar finds itself in the spotlight of the FIFA World Cup at a time when the local economy has plenty of wind in its sails. The energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and Europe’s subsequent pivot away from Russian gas has only strengthened the country’s role as one of the world’s largest exporters of liquified natural gas (LNG), a title it shares with Australia.
“In order to make the most of the current demand for alternatives to Russian gas, Qatar has set in motion a gigantic, FDI-fuelled expansion of its LNG production and exporting capacity.
“The country’s state energy company, Qatar Energy, has teamed up with the likes of Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Eni, and TotalEnergies to carry out the North Field Expansion project, which will add more than 48mn tonnes per year (MTPA) to the world’s LNG supplies and raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 126MTPA. Total investment is estimated at about $50bn.
“Yet the country’s recent FDI successes go beyond oil and gas extraction. In 2022, most of the FDI projects it attracted came from companies in business and financial services, as well as from ICT companies.”
The report also highlighted that Qatar ranks first among the world’s top 50 FDI destinations and is expected to carry the strongest investment momentum into 2023. In 2022, the top sectors for FDI projects were oil and gas, financial services, and software and IT services, it also stated.
Qatar has achieved a 70% annual growth in FDI projects between 2019 and 2022, and its economy is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2023, while inflation is expected not to exceed 3.3%, the report also said.
It further stated that the Middle East and Central Asian region are expected to grow by 3.6% and Sub-Saharan Africa by 3.7% this year, and major economies from the Mena region are expected to carry the strongest investment momentum into 2023.
IPA Qatar oversees investment promotion activities under the ‘Invest Qatar’ brand and acts as the country’s umbrella organisation for FDI attraction. Through its close coordination with Qatari licensing platforms, it helps businesses advance their ambitions and achieve long-term success by delivering the support, advice, and expertise needed.
IPA Qatar’s goal is to showcase Qatar as an exceptional investment destination, connecting international investors to business opportunities, while bringing progress to the country’s economic development and diversification goals across sectors and geographies.
