The Republic confidently occupies the position of the main investment hub in Central Asia
Kazakhstan has become the main center for mutual investments in Central Asia, gathering a record 9.4 billion dollars, as reported by Zakon.kz.
According to the latest "Monitoring of Mutual Investments" (MMI) by the Eurasian Development Bank, the republic not only accounted for over a third of the total capital growth in the region but also ranked second after Russia in terms of investment export volumes.
Investment activity in Eurasia shows unusual resilience: by mid-2025, the volume of accumulated foreign direct investments (FDI) is expected to reach 48.4 billion dollars, despite a global decline anticipated at 11% in 2024.
The main catalyst for growth has been the private sector: its share in investments has increased to 72%, with the total volume of FDI reaching 34.7 billion dollars.
Kazakhstan as an industrial magnet
The growth rate of Kazakhstan's economy is nearly twice the average indicators for the region. While the overall dynamics of mutual investments in Eurasia stood at 6.4%, investments in the Kazakh economy increased by 11.2% by the end of the first half of 2025.
The republic attracted 9,415 million dollars in investments from regional partners, second only to Uzbekistan, which gathered 10.7 billion dollars (22.3% of the regional total).
The capital invested in Kazakh projects increased by almost 1 billion dollars, accounting for more than a third of the total growth of mutual investments in Eurasia. Russia remains the main source of capital, with a share of 78.6% of the total investment volume, a significant portion of which is directed to the Kazakh economy (37,991 million dollars).
Transition from a raw material model
One important conclusion from the report is that Kazakhstan is gradually replacing raw material capital with industrial capital in 2024-2025.
The EDB notes the following changes:
- the manufacturing industry has become a leader, providing an influx of 0.84 billion dollars.
- the agro-industrial complex also showed positive dynamics with a growth of 0.34 billion dollars.
- the raw materials sector has seen a sharp decline in accumulated FDI by 0.5 billion dollars.
As a result, Kazakhstan is actively increasing the inflow of investments into industrial projects. The share of the manufacturing sector in the structure of accumulated investments has risen from 16% to 23% over one and a half years, while the share of the raw materials sector has decreased from 50% to 39%.
Thus, the republic has confidently established itself as an important exporter of capital, becoming the second-largest donor of investments in the region after Russia. Kazakhstan directed 3,249 million dollars into the economies of neighboring countries, including Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan, along with Russia and Azerbaijan, forms the basis of investment activity, with these three countries accounting for about 60% of all mutual investments.
The analysis of the MMI by the EDB showed significant changes in the investment model. For the first time in the history of monitoring, investments in new enterprises (greenfield projects) began to prevail, accounting for 40%, while the share of projects for acquisition and expansion (brownfield) decreased to 39%.
Overall, it is evident that investment flows are increasingly shifting towards Central Asia.
By mid-2025, intra-regional investments are expected to reach 1.3 billion dollars, increasing by 42% compared to 2023 and nearly three times compared to 2016.
At the same time, about 80% of all intra-regional investments are concentrated in construction, manufacturing, and the financial sector, indicating a shift in the region from a raw material model to a more diversified one.
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