Kazakhstan has managed not only to reverse the downward trend of foreign direct investment (FDI) since the adevent of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also reach the indicators of 2017-2019.
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, by the end of 2021, gross inflow of foreign ?apital to Kazakhstan amounted to US$23.7 billion, recording a 37.7% growth in comaprison with 2020 ($17.2 billion).
The top five countries with the largest amount of investment in Kazakhstan’s economy remained unchanged. The Netherlands, United States, Switzerland, Russia and China hold the lead with the growth of their investments ranging from 25% to 92%.
These countries account for 68.3% of the total volume of attracted investments.
The second half of the Top-10 countries has seen significant changes.
Belgium displaced the United Kingdom from 6th place, showing a significant growth of 35.1%. South Korea, with an increase of 73.2%, moved from #9 to #8, ahead of the French, who were 10th.
Turkey, whose investements grew by 87%, held the 9th position.
TOP-10 Investing Countries in Kazakhstan in 2021
1. The Netherlands – $7.0 billion;
2. The U.S. – $2.8 billion;
3. Switzerland – $2.6 billion;
4. Russia – $1.9 billion;
5. China – $1.8 billion;
6. Belgium- $1.06 billion;
7. United Kingdom- $1.02 billion;
8. South Korea – $805.5 million;
9. Turkey – $679.5 million;
10. France – $ 603.1 million.
As for the industries, by the end of 2021, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors showed a 2.8-fold increase in investment inflows, professional, scientific and technical activities showed a 2.6-fold increase, information and communication 80.1% growth and electricity 68.3% growth.
Investment in the manufacturing industry also showed a significant increase. Last year, investors invested in this sector by $2 billion more than in 2020, recording an increase of 65.4%.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for attracting investments, by the end of 2021 over $19 billion of FDI would have flowed into the country, thus reaching the 2017-2019 indicators.
This is due to a result of the successful implementation of investment projects pipeline and the three-tier system of investment attraction.
The Kazakhstan Government is constantly working on improvement of the investment climate by adhering to the best international standards and attaches great importance to the creation of a strong and competitive business environment.
Kazakh Invest acts as a single operator for attracting investments, providing a range of measures to assist investors, in particular in organizing visits to Kazakhstan, identifying funding sources and sites for projects, as well as interacting with local business partners and consulting support in obtaining permits and other documents.
These facts are confirmed by the authoritative international rating agency Standard & Poor’s, which has announced that the sovereign credit rating of Kazakhstan “BBB-” with outlook “stable”.
