ASTANA – In the first half of 2023, Kazakhstan surged $4.1 billion in net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), 86% more than in the previous year, Acting Chairman of the Kazakh Invest National Company Zhandos Temirgali said in an interview with Forbes, published on Dec. 28, 2023, reported the Kazakh Invest’s press service.
Zhandos Temirgali. Photo credit: Kazakh Invest
The country saw a 60% surge in investments directed towards the manufacturing industry, Temirgali added.
According to him, increased business activity during that period resulted in a record number of 22 significant investment events organized by Kazakh Invest, with eight of them conducted with the participation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and three with Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.
With Kazakh Invest’s support, 47 new production facilities worth $1.1 billion with foreign participation were put into operation, generating over 4,500 jobs for citizens.
Also, 2023 marked the commencement of construction and installation work on 42 projects valued at over $3 billion, including the production of thermal insulation materials by the Italian company Cormatex, the construction of a new KIA plant valued at $250 million, and the establishment of 1,500 jobs.
Speaking about corporate relocation, Temirgali noted that 80 companies are currently under consideration, with 41 having completed the process in 2022-2023. The total cost of these projects approached $1.5 billion.
“The Wabtec company relocated its regional office and began implementing a project to produce locomotives and components. Microsoft Corporation opened multi-regional hubs in Kazakhstan, Wika launched equipment production for the oil and gas industry, and Honeywell moved its regional office to Almaty and opened production facilities in several regions of Kazakhstan,” he said.
Kazakhstan secured the fifth place among the world’s developing economies for attracting net investments in renewable energy projects from 2015 to 2022, accumulating a total of $56.3 billion.
“Italian ENI, French TotalEnergies, German Svevind, China Power, Emirati Masdar, Saudi ACWA Power, and others are interested in the development of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan,” he shared.
