RIYADH, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia came eighth among top 10 recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world in 2009, making the oil-rich kingdom the top FDI destination in the Middle East, a UN report said.
According to the World Investment Report (WIR) of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released in Riyadh on Thursday, Saudi Arabia lured 36 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investments last year, Saudi-based Arab News newspaper reported Friday.
"Being the largest FDI recipient in the region, Saudi Arabia has projected impressive growth last year and it has earned investor confidence from global entrepreneurs," Taffere Tescfachew, chief of the Office of UNCTAD Secretary-General and Strategy and Policy Coordination, was quoted by the paper as telling a news conference in the Saudi capital.
The report that covered 192 countries was released simultaneously in 42 countries worldwide.
The kingdom was placed 14th last year in the WIR though with five-percent higher inflows of 38.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.
According to the report, the United States was the top contributor of the kingdom's FDI inflows in 2009 with 5.8 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Kuwait with 4.3 billion, UAE with 3.8 billion, France with 2.6 billion, Japan with 2 billion and others with smaller amounts.
The investments were channeled into several economic sectors, including real estate and infrastructure, building contracts, financial services, mining, oil and gas exploration, transportation, telecommunications and information technology, the report said.
The top three countries ranked in the report were the United State, China and France.
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