MANAMA: Saudi Arabia received the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) among GCC states and the country was ranked first in the World Investment Report 2008 (WIR) with $24 billion FDI out of total of $43 billion in the GCC in 2007, a senior UN official who launched the WIR 2008 in Manama yesterday said. Nazha Benabbes Taarji, director of investment promotion at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a pre-launch interview of WIR 2008 lauded the steps taken by Saudi authorities by easing restrictions on flow of FDIs and opening up many areas for foreign investors as part of a strategic move. In 2006 Saudi Arabia was among the top three in West Asia along with Turkey and the UAE and recorded $18 billion FDIs.
The level of foreign direct investment flowing into all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states increased by 30 percent in 2007 from the previous year at $43 billion.