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How Dubai Property Developer Out-Invested Microsoft in 2025
Last Updated on October 16, 2026 by Albert Patience
Last Updated on October 16, 2026 by Albert Patience

 

Tech companies dominated the list of the world’s 10 largest foreign investors. 

 

TSMC led the ranking with $100 billion in announced investment tied to its Arizona expansion.

 

DAMAC Holding, a Dubai-based luxury property developer, committed $24.6 billion in foreign capital expenditure in 2025, ranking sixth globally and ahead of Microsoft, which invested $17.7 billion.

 

The surprising part is where that money went. 

 

DAMAC invested in data centers, not housing. That puts a company best known for luxury residential towers ahead of one of the world’s largest technology firms in a foreign-investment ranking.

 

Meanwhile, Only greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) announcements are included, meaning mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and intercompany loans are excluded.

 

The biggest commitments of 2025 did not always come from traditional technology companies. They increasingly came from businesses that moved quickly into AI infrastructure, regardless of where they started.

 

ALSO READ: Who Are The World’s Highest-Paid CEOs?

 

 

 

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Rank Company Capital Expenditure (billions $) Sector
1 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 1 TSMC 100.0 Tech
2 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 2 ByteDance 45.1 Tech
3 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 3 MGX Fund Management 43.4 Finance
4 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 4 Brookfield Asset Management 28.2 Finance
5 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 5 Alphabet 25.1 Tech
6 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 6 DAMAC Holding 24.6 Real Estate
7 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 7 Iberdrola 24.3 Utilities
8 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 8 Microsoft 17.7 Tech
9 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 9 Woodside Energy 17.5 Energy
10 Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM Patience 16/10/2026 03:54 PM 10 Micron Technology 16.6 Tech

 

 

 

Source:

 

fDi Report 2026 via FT Locations.

 

 

 

Last Updated on October 16, 2026 by Albert Patience

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