Foreign investment fell 23% in the second quarter, and China supplied nearly half of what came in

Preliminary GeoStat data put foreign direct investment at $468.8 million in the second quarter of 2026, 23.2% below the same quarter a year earlier. The fall was concentrated in reinvested earnings rather than in new money arriving: reinvestment still made up $300.5 million of the total and equity capital $210.5 million, which together come to more than 100% because the debt component worked in the other direction. That composition matters more than the headline. A drop driven by companies sending profits home instead of ploughing them back is a different signal from foreign buyers deciding not to come at all.

China led with $219.5 million, or 46.8% of the quarter's total. The United Kingdom followed with $123.5 million (26.3%) and the United Arab Emirates with $47.7 million (10.2%). Between them those three supplied 83.3% of all foreign direct investment in the quarter, which is a narrow base by any measure. A market that depends on three sources is exposed to decisions taken in three capitals, and anyone underwriting a long-held asset here should price that concentration rather than ignore it.

By sector, financial and insurance activity took $207.6 million, or 44.3% of the quarter. Real estate came second at $119.9 million, 25.6%, and manufacturing third at $59 million, 12.6%. For property owners the second line is the one worth tracking quarter on quarter: it is the closest public proxy there is for how much foreign capital is actually being committed to buildings here, as opposed to being talked about. One quarter is not a trend, and these are preliminary figures that GeoStat revises, so the sensible use of them is as a running series rather than a single verdict.