Data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets shows that Dubai is the leading destination for investors expanding into the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since 2003, Dubai has attracted the lion’s share of inward investment to the UAE, and figures so far recorded for 2015 show no sign of deviation from this trend.

Between January and April 2015, fDi Markets has tracked $2.18bn entering the UAE, across 115 projects. Dubai has attracted $1.39bn of this, and accounted for 81.74% of all inward projects. These statistics place the emirate third in the world in 2015 for inward FDI attraction, behind London and Singapore.

The first quarter of 2015 saw 76 inward investment projects in Dubai. While representing a 6.17% year-on-year decline compared with 2014, this is the second highest level of inward investment the emirate has recorded in a first quarter since 2010. Capital investment also had a strong start to the year, surpassing the milestone of $1bn in the quarter. Job growth as a result of inward FDI experienced quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.93% during the quarter, with job creation in Dubai representing 58.81% of all jobs created in the UAE in the period.

Should investment inflow levels continue, 2015 looks set to be a particularly lucrative year for the emirate.