RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has stood third in the Middle East and sixth globally in the Emerging Markets ranking of the 2023 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index released by Kearney, affirming the high investor confidence in the Kingdom. According to the FDIC report, it followed China, India, the UAE, Qatar and Thailand. The Emerging Markets ranking aims to provide business leaders with insights into emerging markets that are most attractive to investors. Referring to Saudi Arabia, the report said that the rankings were fueled by the Kingdom’s robust rate of gross domestic product, strong fiscal outlook and accelerating progress in its economic diversification goals. The report further disclosed that the Kingdom ranked third globally in investor confidence due to its strong and growing technological and innovation capabilities, a highly collaborative approach to public-private investment, the sustained fiscal windfall from solid oil revenue, and the recovery of the tourism sector following the major pandemic-induced disruption. “We are witnessing in Saudi Arabia the emergence of a new investment paradigm that features co-creation of value and mutual skin in the game, a long-term strategic orientation concerning investment, and a pervasive commitment to innovation in all areas,” said Rudolph Lohmeyer, Partner, National Transformations Institute, Kearney Middle East in a press note. Saudi Arabia, which grew by 8.7 percent in 2022, ranked 24th on the FDIC Index, following UAE’s 18th and Qatar’s 21st rank, boosting the Middle East’s prominence. The UAE’s GDP expanded by 7.9 percent in 2022, and the country is expected to rise at a constant rate of 3.2 percent and 4.8 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The index demonstrates that the UAE business environment is solid, and the country’s rising technical and innovation skills stand out as crucial advantages to investors. Qatar, meanwhile, jumped three places in the global ranking beginning in 2022 from 24th to 21st, most likely as a result of Qatar’s famous hosting of the FIFA World Cup last year, which fueled the interest of investors. The FDIC report also reflected the cautious investor optimism about the global economy. About 82 percent of the people surveyed said they are planning to increase their foreign direct investment in the next three years, and 86 percent cited FDI as more important for their corporate profitability and competitiveness in the next three years. “While investors are generally optimistic about the outlook for FDI, our results this year also reflect a degree of caution,” said Erik R. Peterson, partner and managing director of Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council, in the press note. “Investors cited a rise in commodity prices, an increase in geopolitical tensions, and rising political instability in emerging markets as among the top risk factors over the next three years,” he added.