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The UAE FDI target of US$65 billion a year by 2031 now needs about 5.1 percent annual growth from 2025’s record US$48.3 billion. On the arithmetic of FOUAE (Founders of UAE), every flat year raises that bar. A flat 2026 lifts the required pace to about 6.1 percent a year.

Data: UNCTAD, UAE Ministry of Investment, Dubai and Abu Dhabi media offices, The National and ADGM, March 2025 to October 2026. FOUAE calculations are marked. This is an explainer, not investment advice.

In short

  • Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UAE hit a record US$48.3 billion in 2025, ninth in the world.
  • The UAE FDI target is AED 240 billion, about US$65 billion, a year by 2031.
  • The Ministry of Investment says no planned 2026 investment has been cancelled, though some has been delayed or scaled back.

What the UAE FDI target asks for

FDI is money foreign companies put into businesses, factories and projects they own or control in another country. The UAE wants that flow to reach AED 240 billion a year by 2031, up from AED 112 billion in 2023. Officials unveiled the strategy in November 2024, and the Cabinet approved it in March 2025, Dubai Media Office reported.

The same plan, the National Investment Strategy 2031, also aims to lift the total stock of foreign investment to AED 2.2 trillion. That is about US$600 billion.

How 2025 set the record

The UAE attracted US$48.3 billion of FDI in 2025, up 6 percent, UNCTAD data showed. It was the fourth record year in a row and ranked the UAE ninth in the world, Dubai Media Office reported on 8 July 2026.

The mix also matters. The UAE ranked second in the world for new greenfield projects, with 1,562 of them, for the third year running. Greenfield means building something new, such as a plant or an office, rather than buying an existing firm. These projects made up about 45 percent of inflows.

Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi said: “The UAE’s investment story continued to gather momentum in 2025.”

Why the war has slowed FDI decisions

The war that began in February has slowed some decisions. However, the Ministry of Investment says it has not stopped them. Investors have told the ministry: “We haven’t cancelled our plans.” That is according to its Undersecretary, Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, The National reported on 20 October.

Instead, he said, investors are waiting, delaying a little, or “decreasing the quantum a little bit”. Alhawi also said inflows sit in the US$40 billion-plus range and should stay there for a couple more years, before moving towards US$65 billion.

In July, UNCTAD said the conflict was likely to depress global FDI in the near term, The National reported. It added that capital-intensive infrastructure, energy and industrial projects were the most exposed.

The 2031 maths: three scenarios for the UAE FDI target

The UAE FDI target needs inflows to rise about US$16.7 billion, or 35 percent, above 2025’s level, using the rounded US$65 billion figure. The question is how fast they must grow each year.

The FOUAE calculation

From 2025, reaching US$65 billion in 2031 takes about 5.1 percent a year for six years. However, the required pace depends on 2026:

  • 2026 flat at US$48.3 billion: about 6.1 percent a year from 2027 to 2031.
  • 2026 down 5 percent: about 7.2 percent a year.
  • 2026 down 10 percent: about 8.4 percent a year.
  • Inflows at 2025’s level until 2027: about 7.7 percent a year from 2028.

For scale, inflows grew about 24 percent a year from 2021 to 2025, Minister Alsuwaidi said. Even the hardest scenario above asks for about a third of that pace. These are scenarios, not forecasts.

The stock goal points the same way. Stock stood at AED 1.17 trillion, about US$319 billion, in 2025. On FOUAE’s arithmetic, reaching US$600 billion needs about US$47 billion of net additions a year from 2026 to 2031. That is close to 2025’s inflow, although the stock also moves with valuations and is not simply the sum of inflows.

Early 2026 signals from ADGM and Dubai

Meanwhile, some of the clearest 2026 evidence comes from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the capital’s financial free zone. In the first half of 2026, assets under management there rose 54 percent from a year earlier. Asset managers grew to 190 from 154, and funds rose 32 percent to 276, Abu Dhabi Media Office reported.

Arrivals also continued in October. Advent International, with more than US$109 billion under management, opened an ADGM office on 21 October, The National reported. “The Middle East is home to some of Advent’s most valued long-term partners,” said Mehdi Iraqi, Managing Director, Limited Partner Services, who will lead the office.

Dubai, meanwhile, ranked first in the world for greenfield FDI projects in 2025, the fifth year running. It drew 1,253 projects, Dubai Media Office reported, citing fDi Markets data.

What could slow the UAE FDI target

On FOUAE’s reading, the main risk is timing, because capital-heavy projects are the easiest to delay. HSBC estimates the UAE’s project-finance pipeline needs more than US$190 billion of funding, The National reported.

The IMF also expects the UAE economy to shrink 3.9 percent in 2026 before growing 7.7 percent in 2027, as our look at the UAE GDP forecast explains. In addition, The National reported that east coast ports, rail and pipelines are federal investment priorities, the routes covered in our analysis of the UAE Hormuz bypass.

What the UAE FDI target means for founders

FOUAE’s reading, not a forecast: delayed projects tend to restart when conditions settle, so the 2026 pipeline matters more than the 2026 total. Firms that supply greenfield projects with fit-out, logistics, legal, staffing and data services sit closest to that pipeline.

The growth in ADGM’s fund managers points to demand for compliance, fund administration and specialist hiring in Abu Dhabi.

The verdict on the UAE FDI target

So what does the UAE FDI target need? After a record 2025, it needs steady growth of about 5 to 8.5 percent a year, depending on how 2026 ends. That is well below the recent pace. The ministry says investors are delaying or trimming plans rather than cancelling them, so the target now hinges on how quickly paused projects restart.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the UAE FDI target for 2031?

The UAE aims for AED 240 billion, about US$65 billion, of foreign direct investment a year by 2031. It also targets a total FDI stock of AED 2.2 trillion, about US$600 billion. The Cabinet approved both targets in March 2025.

How much FDI did the UAE attract in 2025?

The UAE attracted a record US$48.3 billion of FDI in 2025, up 6 percent, according to UNCTAD data. That ranked it ninth in the world, and second for new greenfield projects, with 1,562.

Has the war stopped foreign investment in the UAE?

Not according to the Ministry of Investment. Its Undersecretary, Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, told The National in October 2026 that no planned 2026 investment had been cancelled. Some investors are waiting, delaying or scaling plans back a little.

Sources

Sources: Dubai Media Office, UAE attracts AED 177bn in FDI inflows in 2025, 8 July 2026; UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2026, July 2026; Dubai Media Office, Mohammed bin Rashid chairs Cabinet meeting, 10 March 2025; The National, No cancellation of planned FDI in UAE this year, 20 October 2026; Abu Dhabi Media Office, ADGM reinforces Abu Dhabi’s position as global financial hub, 8 September 2026; ADGM, Advent opens office in Abu Dhabi, further extending its international reach, 21 October 2026; The National, Global private equity investor Advent opens ADGM office, 21 October 2026; Dubai Media Office, Dubai greenfield FDI 2025, 23 June 2026. The growth scenarios, the gap to target and the stock calculation are FOUAE calculations. This is general information, not investment advice.

Founders of UAE (FOUAE) is an independent, digital-first business publication covering the founders, companies and economy of the United Arab Emirates. Follow FOUAE on Instagram and LinkedIn.