The main indicator of Kazakhstan's attractiveness is the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). This was announced at the 46th meeting of the Association of Financial Institutions for Development of the Asia-Pacific Region (ADFIAP) in Astana, the Zakon.kz portal reports.
According to the Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Ardak Zebeshev, over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has attracted more than $410 billion. In 2022, gross FDI inflow to Kazakhstan amounted to $28 billion, which is 17.8% higher than in 2021 - $23.8 billion. This is the largest inflow of investments in the last 10 years.
The top three countries that have become leaders in terms of the largest inflow of FDI to Kazakhstan are headed by the Netherlands, which injected $110.4 billion (29.3%) into Kazakhstan. The second place is occupied by the USA - $51.9 billion (13.8%). The third place was taken by Switzerland - $32.5 billion (8.6%).
FDI from other countries in Kazakhstan is distributed as follows:
• China - $22.7 billion (6.0%);
• Russia – $19 billion (5.0%);
• France - $17.9 billion (4.8%);
• United Kingdom - $16.4 billion (4.4%);
• Belgium - $11.3 billion (3.0%);
• South Korea - $8.1 billion (2.2%);
• Japan - $7.3 billion (1.9%);
• Italy - $7 billion (1.9%).
Among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan continues to be a favorite in terms of attracting foreign investment. For example, at the end of 2022, the gross inflow of foreign investment in Kazakhstan amounted to $28 billion, and according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, over the past 5 years, Kazakhstan has annually attracted more than 20 billion FDI. Even in the pandemic year 2020, which was unsuccessful for the whole world, the inflow of FDI to Kazakhstan amounted to $17.2 billion. For comparison: Uzbekistan mastered $11.1 billion of foreign investment in 2020, and Kyrgyzstan even in 2021 managed to attract only $503.5 million FDI.
Moreover, there is an outflow of FDI in Kyrgyzstan, and although it is declining, in reality the amount is impressive. According to the data of the National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, in January-September 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, the outflow of FDI decreased by 1.6% and amounted to $563.5 million.
Factors of attractiveness of Kazakhstan for investors:
For investors who take into account all the risks, several factors are the main ones:
• political stability,
• stability of legislation,
• efficiency of public administration throughout the country.
The advantage for Kazakhstan is also a convenient geographical position, the participants of the meeting in Astana said. Kazakhstan is actually a key link on the Silk Road and connects Europe and Asia and plays the role of a transit country, the participants of the financial meeting in Astana said.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 17, 2023