Lebanon, Morocco lead in attracting Arab investments

Arab investments in Morocco have remarkably soared from $12.8 million in 2002 to $672.1 million in 2003, that is the most significant increase of investments in the region, revealed the latest report of the Arab Institution for Investments Guarantee.

This increase makes Morocco the second country that gains Arab investments behind Lebanon, that registered $850 million (against 650 in 2002). The north African country is followed by Saudi Arabia ($562 million), Sudan ($391 million), Bahrain ($191.7 million) and Yemen ($126.4 million).

Investments among the Arab states were estimated at $3.72 billion by the end of 2003, that is a rise of 27.8 percent compared to the previous year.

As for direct foreign investments in the Arab states, the reports says they totaled $6.5 billion, against $4.2 billion in 2002 and $6.7 billion in 2001.