Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Gulf countries in Turkey grew a staggering 397 percent to reach $552 million between January and May this year, compared to $111 million in the same period of 2016, the Economy Ministry has confirmed.

According to the ministry, the positive trend in Turkey's economy, coupled with some timely measures and incentives from its government has boosted the interest of the Gulf, Near and Middle Eastern countries, as well as from nations in the European Union (EU).

In the meantime, total FDI in Turkey from Asian countries rose 122 percent, reaching $936 million in the first five months of the year, up from $422 million in the same period of last year.

Investments from Near Eastern countries climbed to $824 million from last year's $285 million, a 189 percent rise.

The highest increase during the same period was observed in FDI from Gulf countries, with investments reaching $552 million from $111 million, a 397 percent hike. Meanwhile, the inflow of investment from EU countries between January and May jumped 66.3 percent, rising to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion in the same period last year.

The amount of investment from Germany during this period increased to $142 million from $125 million and investments from the Netherlands rose to $751 million from $381 million.

Investments by the U.K., however, tumbled to $74 million from $203 million while Austrian investments fell to $116 million from $247 million.

In the first five months, the total amount of investment by other EU countries reached $1.3 billion from $482 million, with Spain contributing about $1 billion. Among the 55,370 companies in Turkey that run on international capital, a total of 22,088 have partners in the EU while 19,047 have partners in the Near Eastern countries. Germany with capitals in 6,991 companies ranks first among Turkey's international partners.

In the first five months of this year, the total FDI inflow to Turkey stood at $4.777 billion, with an 11.2 percent rise from January 2017 to May 2017. The capital item of foreign direct investments during that period soared by 85 percent, reaching $3.4 billion, while the amount of investments flowing into Turkey reached $3.6 billion, with a 65 percent increase. As far as the investment by sectors goes, financial intermediary institutions ranked first, with inflows increasing by 600 percent hitting $1.061 billion. It was followed by the electric, gas and water sector with investment worth $810 million. Real estate purchases amounted to $1.5 billion during the same period.