Prime Highlights
- Foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia rose steadily in the third quarter of 2025, showing strong confidence from global investors.
- Increased investment reflects the Kingdom’s continued efforts to grow its economy beyond oil under Vision 2030.
Key Facts
- Total foreign direct investment reached SR1.05 trillion ($280 billion) by the end of Q3 2025, marking a 10 percent increase from last year.
- Saudi Arabia aims to attract $100 billion in foreign investment annually by 2030 to support non-oil economic growth.
Background:
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia increased during the third quarter of 2025, showing steady confidence from international investors in the Kingdom’s economic plans.
Saudi Central Bank data showed that total FDI reached SR1.05 trillion ($280 billion) by the end of the quarter, up 10 percent from last year. The growth comes as Saudi Arabia continues to open more sectors to foreign investors as part of its Vision 2030 diversification efforts.
SAMA figures also showed that overall foreign investments in the Kingdom climbed 17 percent year on year to SR3.2 trillion. This total includes direct investments, portfolio investments, and other foreign capital flows such as loans, deposits, and trade credits.
Portfolio investments by foreign entities, which cover equities, investment funds, and debt securities, reached SR1.31 trillion in the third quarter. This was a 24 percent increase from last year, showing higher interest from foreign investors in Saudi markets.
On the asset side, Saudi Arabia’s total assets rose to SR5.99 trillion during the third quarter, reflecting a 5 percent increase year on year. Direct investments abroad reached SR953.66 billion, posting a 16 percent annual rise. Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s overseas portfolio investments totaled SR1.94 trillion, up nearly 4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
Other overseas assets, such as trade credit, loans, and deposits, increased by 8.9 percent to SR1.41 trillion. However, reserve assets declined slightly by 1.4 percent year on year to SR1.68 trillion, according to the central bank.
In a separate release, the General Authority for Statistics reported that Saudi Arabia’s net FDI inflows reached SR24.9 billion in the third quarter of 2025, representing a 34.5 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Saudi Arabia plans to attract $100 billion in foreign investment each year by 2030 to grow its economy beyond oil.
