The net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Central Asia decreased by 39% in 2024, reaching $4 billion. These figures are reported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), according to Kursiv.kz.
The organization released a report stating that global FDI increased by 11% to $1.3 trillion in 2024. Net FDI inflows rose in the European Union (by 122%) and North Africa (by 276%) but declined in Western Asia (by 24%) and South America (by 16%).
The net FDI inflow into Central Asia also fell by 39%—the steepest decline among all regions. While $10 billion was invested in Central Asia in 2022 and $7 billion in 2023, UNCTAD estimates that this figure dropped to $4 billion in 2024.
According to the Telegram channel Tradereport.kz, this decline is primarily due to a sharp decrease in FDI inflows to Kazakhstan, which fell by 32.3 times. Previously, Kazakhstan's National Bank reported that the net FDI inflow for January–September 2024 amounted to $72.9 million, compared to $2.3 billion during the same period in 2023. This represents the lowest figure since the National Bank began publishing data in 2005.
At the same time, Uzbekistan's authorities reported that the net inflow of FDI into the country increased by 7% during the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, reaching $1.9 billion.
"Thus, it can be concluded that Uzbekistan is confidently establishing itself as the new regional leader in attracting foreign investors," writes Tradereport.kz.
Net FDI inflow refers to the difference between the total amount of foreign investments received by a country and the total amount of outgoing investments over a specific period.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
January 24, 2025