Investments to Kazakhstan May Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels Next Year

According to Alisher Abdykarimov, vice-minister of the national economy, the amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kazakhstan may reach $24 billion next year. It’s very close to the pre-pandemic level of $24.4 billion in 2019.

As the official recalled, FDI to Kazakhstan in 2020 showed a record drop of $17 billion.

«Now we’ve seen a 30% growth of FDI over the same period last year. With regard to investments in equity, we have finally gotten back to the growth path. In other words, investments in equity are growing and next year we are going to reach the pre-pandemic level of about $24 billion. This is our plan for 2022,» he said.

In the first half of this year, the level of FDI to the country was more than $11.1 billion or a 30.4% high over the same period last year, at $8.5 billion.

«This year we expect to attract about $20 billion of FDI and we are going to rebound to the pre-pandemic level in investments by 2023,» Abdykadyrov said.

The biggest investors to Kazakhstan are the Netherlands, the U.S. and Switzerland, he added.

Over the last 10 years, Kazakhstan is used to attracting about $20 billion each year. The country has managed to attract more than $670 billion in total since it gained its independence.

Even though the pandemic hit the entire global economy and Kazakhstan reported a lower level of FDI, the country demonstrated the biggest growth in FDI among 17 countries with transit economies and 34 land-locked countries.