BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 26. Overall, Kyrgyzstan's foreign investment into the country declined in the first half of 2025, masking a significant surge in productive, long-term capital.
Data obtained by Trend from the country's National Statistics Committee show that while total investment inflows (excluding outflows) fell by 18 percent year-on-year to $2.7 billion, the most important segment of foreign direct investment (FDI) showed the opposite trend, increasing by 22 percent to $563 million.
A key positive indicator is that new FDI inflows substantially exceeded outflows during the period, suggesting strengthening investor confidence in core sectors of the economy.
The manufacturing sector remained the primary destination for FDI, attracting $178 million, or nearly a third of the total. It was closely followed by the mining sector and financial intermediation and insurance, which attracted approximately $98 million and $94 million, respectively.
Investment growth was particularly dynamic in several sectors. Notably, spending on geological exploration skyrocketed by 430 percent year-on-year. The financial intermediation and insurance sector saw an 80 percent increase, information and communication grew by 60 percent, and mining investment rose by 50 percent. Investment in manufacturing registered a more modest 6 percent increase. In contrast, the wholesale and retail trade sector suffered a significant 25 percent contraction.
The top five sources of FDI for the first half of 2025 were:
China: $166 million (30 percent of total)
Russia: $106 million (19 percent of total)
Türkiye: $96 million (17 percent of total)
Kazakhstan: $64 million (11 percent of total)
Netherlands: $46 million (8 percent of total)
Investment flows from most of these key partners increased markedly. Inflows from Kazakhstan more than doubled (up 122 percent), while investments from China, Türkiye, and the Netherlands saw robust growth of approximately 52 percent, 57 percent, and 54 percent, respectively. FDI from Russia saw a marginal decrease of 1.9 percent.
The investment focus varied by country:
Chinese capital primarily targeted mining, manufacturing (especially base metals, metal products, rubber, and plastics), and geological exploration.
Turkish investments were channeled into mining, manufacturing (particularly food, beverages, rubber, and plastics), and financial services.
Dutch investment flowed into information and communication, as well as manufacturing (mainly food and beverages).
Kazakhstani investment was concentrated in financial intermediation and insurance.
Despite the strong net positive FDI, outflows of existing investment totaled $285 million. The largest outflows were recorded from the financial intermediation and insurance sector, which accounted for 37 percent ($104 million) of the total outflow, and from the mining sector, which saw $80 million (28 percent) in divestment. Outflows from the financial sector surged by 290 percent, while outflows from mining increased by 50 percent.
The primary sources of this outgoing investment were China (23 percent of outflows), Türkiye (23 percent), Kazakhstan (19 percent), and Russia (13 percent). Outflows rose significantly compared to the same period last year: 1.5 times to China, twice to Türkiye, fourfold to Kazakhstan, and 1.7 times to Russia.
