ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 7. Kazakhstan remains the most attractive destination for investment in Central Asia, accumulating 61 percent of the total inflow of investment into the region, said Managing Director of KAZAKH INVEST (Kazakhstan's national company) Azamat Kozhanov at the Kazakh-Qatari business forum, Trend reports.
"The country has direct access to major markets, including the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, Central Asia, shares a common border with China and, across the Caspian Sea, with the countries of the Middle East," he said.
Kozhanov noted that recently, more and more international companies are choosing Kazakhstan as a site for opening production facilities in the manufacturing industry
"For its part, KAZAKH INVEST is ready to provide a range of support services in the implementation of investment projects, including in choosing a region, establishing an effective dialogue with relevant government bodies and organizations, as well as consultations on government support measures," he added.
The business forum also announced the creation of the Kazakh-Qatari Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will further strengthen trade and economic ties between the countries.
At the end of 2022, the gross inflow of foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan amounted to $28 billion, which is 17.7 percent more than the results of 2021 ($23.8 billion). This is a record figure over the past 10 years - in 2012, the volume of FDI reached $28.9 billion.
The leaders in terms of investment in the republic were the Netherlands - $8.33 billion (an increase of 19.7 percent), the US - $5.1 billion (+81.9 percent), Switzerland - $2.8 billion (+2.4 percent), Belgium – $1.56 billion (+46 percent), Russia – $1.52 billion (-19.7 percent), South Korea – $1.48 billion (+84.8 percent), China – $1.43 billion (-22 .5 percent), France – $770.2 million (+27.4 percent), Great Britain – $661 million (-35.7 percent) and Germany – $469.5 million (+45.4 percent).
By industry, the largest volume of investments was directed to the mining industry - $12.1 billion (+25 percent), manufacturing - $5.6 billion (+3 percent), wholesale and retail trade - $5.08 billion (+36 percent), professional, scientific and technical activities - $1.1 billion (2.1 times increase), transport and warehousing - $1.1 billion (+14 percent), construction - $698 million (-3 percent), financial and insurance activities - $650 million (-60 percent), electricity and gas supply – $635.6 million (an increase of 2.8 times), etc.