<p dir="LTR"><span>Financial Tribune - Having attracted some $12.2 billion worth of foreign direct investment, Iran was the second biggest FDI destination in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2016, according to the latest report released by FDI Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times Ltd.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>The report also shows Iran ranked sixth in the number of projects undertaken by foreign investors in the region in the year under review, as a total of 59 projects were implemented in 2016, indicating a 556% upsurge compared with the year before.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>Egypt, with the attraction of about $40 billion of foreign investment over the period (28% of all the FDIs made in the MENA region), was the top FDI destination.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>Trailing Iran (9%) were Saudi Arabia with $11.6 billion (8%), the UAE with $9.1 billion (6%), Algeria with $7.4 (5%) billion, South Africa with $7 billion (5%), Ethiopia with $6.8 billion (5%), Morocco with $6.6 billion (5%), Mozambique with $6.3 billion (4%) and Nigeria with $6.2 billion (4%).</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>The report lists “other” countries in the region as having attracted a total of $29.6 billion, accounting for 21% of the total FDIs attracted.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>According to the report, with $1.7 billion, Iran stood at seventh place in terms of the amount of investment made by the country overseas last year.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"> </p>