Last year Kazakhstan managed to attract $28 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) which is a record high for the past decade and a 17.7% increase compared to the $23.8 billion invested in 2021. In 2012, the FDI in Kazakhstan was about $28.9 billion, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
The Netherlands accounted for about a third of this money ($8.3 billion), followed by the U.S. ($5.1 billion) and Switzerland ($2.8 billion).
Among other key investing countries are: Belgium ($1.6 billion), Russia ($1.5 billion), South Korea ($1.5 billion), China ($1.4 billion), France ($770 million), the U.K. ($661 million) and Germany ($469.5 million).
The vast part of the FDI was allocated to the mining industry ($12.1 billion, a 25% increase over 2021), the processing industry ($5.6 billion) and retail and wholesale trade (+36% to $5.1 billion). The scientific and technical sectors and the transportation and warehouse industry reported $2.4 billion of FDI in total, a twofold increase over the previous period.
The city of Almaty and the Atyrau region reported $16 billion of foreign investment in 2022, followed by the capital city of Astana ($2.2 billion, a 107.2% increase), the East Kazakhstan region ($2.2 billion, +3.1%) and the Aktobe region ($1.2 billion, an 11.2% decrease).
Earlier this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the cabinet to attract at least $150 billion of investments in seven years. He noted that Kazakhstan has attracted more than $370 billion in total since becoming an independent state. To make the country a more attractive place for foreign investors, the government has developed a set of tools aimed at supporting each investor. In 2022, the country introduced a strategic investment agreement.
While giving a speech at a meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Council in February Tokayev noted that the ultimate goal of economic reforms in the country isn’t «abstract figures of the GDP growth or prestigious position in international ratings but the increasing of quality of life in the country.» This is why foreign investment is needed. The president also underscored that Kazakhstan is ready to hard work to create a good investment climate, which is the country’s top priority. However, Tokayev believes that foreign investments shouldn’t be only concentrated in the mining sector, as the agricultural complex, tourism, the processing industry and transportation are also very promising economic sectors in Kazakhstan.
