The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Kazakhstan decreased more than 30 times over the first nine months of 2024, from $2.3 billion to $72.9 million, according to statistics from the country's National Bank. The national company Kazakh Invest explained this decline as a temporary phenomenon, reports Kazinform.
The main reason for the drop was a 93.4% decrease in reinvested earnings ($6.4 billion). This is due either to a reduction in company profits or an increase in dividend payments to foreign shareholders.
Despite the decline, the total gross FDI inflow for the first three quarters of 2024 amounted to $12.7 billion. The primary cause of the drop was the completion of a major oil and gas project at Tengiz, which previously accounted for a significant share of investments.
Following the project's completion, the state is now set to receive tax revenues of approximately $2.8 billion per year. To compensate for the decline in FDI, Kazakhstan is actively attracting new investors. In 2024, the country accounted for 63% of all investments in new projects in the Northern and Central Asian region, with total investments in these projects reaching $15.7 billion.
- Overall, the decline in net FDI inflows recorded in 2024 should be viewed as a temporary phenomenon caused by objective economic and cyclical factors. Kazakhstan remains an attractive destination for foreign investors, as evidenced by its leadership in Northern and Central Asia in terms of investments in new projects. The completion of large-scale initiatives such as PBR opens opportunities for a shift towards other promising sectors, including renewable energy, the agro-industrial complex, transport and logistics, as well as digitalization, - the statement said.
Earlier, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the need for the government to strengthen its efforts in the investment sector.
In Kazakhstan, investment in fixed capital for January – November 2024 amounted to 15.8 trillion tenge.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
January 30, 2025