According to fDi Intelligence’s annual FDI Standouts Watchlist, Kazakhstan reached sixth in the global rating of foreign direct investments (FDI, when an investor controls at least 10% of voting stocks) and macroeconomic prospects as of the end of 2023. Both the IMF and fDi Intelligence believe that the country demonstrated sustainable growth after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six countries from Asia have been included on the list with Cambodia as the leader, the Philippines second and Kenya third. The top ten countries in terms of FDI also include Namibia and Morocco. Serbia is the only European country to make the list.
With gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 6.1% in 2024, up from 5.6% in 2023, the IMF expects Cambodia to be the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia next year.
Iraq has taken the fourth place thanks to its potential in energy and social stability. These factors facilitate economic growth and make the country attractive for foreign direct investments, according to the FDI Standouts Watchlist.
The survey also says that over the period from 2021 to 2023, FDI capital expenditures in Kazakhstan grew by 277.35%, while FDI projects rose by 62.7%. In 2024, the inflation rate in the country is expected to be at 9% with a GDP growth of 4.2%. Based on these four indicators, Kazakhstan’s index score in the survey is 82.56%.
In mid-December 2023, the Eurasian Development Bank reported that the total amount of accumulated mutual FDI in Kazakhstan reached $48.8 billion in the first six months of 2023. The amount of regional accumulated FDI in Central Asia in the first months of 2023 was assessed at $1.1 billion, which is 1.8 times higher than in 2016.
However, geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty still impair FDI perspectives for 2024. Base rates in the U.S. and Europe are expected to decline following the lower inflation. The IMF believes that developed economies will grow by 1.4% on average.
The international financial institution also expects that sub-Saharan countries in Africa will report economic growth of 4% in 2024, a slight increase from 3.3% in 2023, while the Middle East will grow from 2% to 3.4%t.
