China poised to become Kazakhstan’s largest foreign investor

China is set to become the biggest investor in Kazakhstan, overtaking the U.S. / Photo: Zhanbolat Mamyshev, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

According to Madiyar Sultanbek, deputy chairman of Kazakh Invest, China will soon rise from fourth to third place in terms of the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Kazakhstan. He hasn’t ruled out that China may eventually become the largest foreign investor in the country.

«The People’s Republic of China is already among the top four largest investment partners [of Kazakhstan]. As statistics show, since 2005, we have attracted more than $30 billion from them, and this trend is only increasing. We think that the PRC will soon enter the top three or, perhaps, the top two leading investors, and then even become the leader in terms of FDI in our country,» he told reporters.

He reminded that FDI refers to investment made in a representative office in Kazakhstan or in a joint venture operating in the country. According to Sultanbek, Chinese businesses have shown great interest in various projects in Kazakhstan.

The official noted that Kazakh Invest is eager to work with investments from China and even establish a China Desk for that purpose. The deputy head of the company said that he sees great interest from Chinese entrepreneurs in projects in Kazakhstan.

«China will reach third place within three years if it keeps up the current rate of investment. Don’t forget, our other partners have large accumulated investments. However, given that China has been investing heavily over the past several years, it will overcome that accumulated foreign investment within two or three years,» Sultanbek explained.

He also believes that China could reach second place in terms of FDI volume in Kazakhstan in five or six years, or even a bit earlier.

In August, China’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Han Chunlin, visited the North Kazakhstan region, where he became acquainted with several promising projects. Now, Gauyez Nurmukhanbetov, the governor of the region, is planning to visit several regions of China at the end of November. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Astana organized a business forum, inviting more than 50 businessmen from the North Kazakhstan region and partners from China.

«For our region, cooperation with Chinese businesses is very important because it opens up wide opportunities for implementing investment projects and introducing innovative technologies, boosting the export potential of the region,» Nurmukhanbetov said at the forum.

According to him, trade turnover between the North Kazakhstan region and China amounted to $105 million in the first eight months of the year, which is twice as much as in the same period last year.

«In 2024, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $43.8 billion, showing a 7.8% increase. China is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner. In the first nine months of this year, bilateral trade turnover reached $35.5 billion, representing a 7.4% increase. Today, China is among the top five largest investors in Kazakhstan’s economy, with a total investment volume of $25.2 billion,» Chunlin emphasized.

Over the period from 2020 to 2024, the Netherlands ranked first in terms of FDI – $30.3 billion ($3.8 billion in 2024), followed by Russia with $11.7 billion ($4.1 billion in 2024), the U.S. – $10.3 billion (down $0.9 billion), China – $7.5 billion ($1.2 billion), Belgium – $5.6 billion ($1.2 billion) and South Korea – $5.1 billion ($1.2 billion).