Over 7 years of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s presidency, Kazakhstan’s gross inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) amounted to approximately 162.1 bln dollars , according to financial analyst Aibar Olzhayev based on data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The expert shared his analysis on Facebook, El.kz reports.
Financial analyst Aibar Olzhayev has described Kazakhstan’s approach as “investment diplomacy.”According to him, the President’s foreign visits include meetings with major business representatives, investment roundtables, and negotiations with companies interested in projects in Kazakhstan.
“The foreign policy pursued by Tokayev as Head of State has a particularly important economic dimension that few people are aware of. A significant part of the President’s foreign visits is not limited to political negotiations. The Head of State personally meets with major business representatives in the countries he visits, holds investment roundtables, and invites specific companies to Kazakhstan. Subsequently, many of these negotiations result in investment agreements, industrial plants, power generation facilities, logistics centres, or actual capital inflows,” the expert noted.
The National Bank maintains separate statistics on foreign direct investment and publishes data by country and sector.
“Let us examine this correlation through the figures. According to data from the National Bank, updated as of 30 June 2026, total FDI inflows into Kazakhstan from foreign direct investors amounted to approximately $155.8 bln over 2019–2025. A further $6.3 bln was received in the first quarter of 2026. Given that Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich assumed the presidency in March 2019, the first quarter of 2026 marked exactly seven years of his presidency. Thus, over these seven years, $162.1 bln in investment flowed into the country, averaging approximately $23 bln per year,” Aibar Olzhayev wrote.
According to Olzhayev’s calculations, investment inflows varied considerably from year to year:
“The annual dynamics can also be traced: $24.4 bln in 2019, $17.2 bln in 2020, $23.8 bln in 2021, $28.2 bln in 2022, $23.9 bln in 2023, $17.9 bln in 2024, $20.5 bln in 2025, and $6.3 bln attracted in the first quarter of 2026. The record was set in 2022, when the President was almost engaged in foreign visits and each visit ultimately generated a specific, measurable economic effect for the country in dollar terms. This is the outcome of investment diplomacy.”
Olzhayev also draws attention to changes in the geographical distribution of investment. According to him, following the President’s visits to South Korea, Germany, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, investment from these countries doubled.
“The engagement with Qatar and China produced truly remarkable results. Before 2023, Qatari investment in Kazakhstan amounted to only $9 mln, whereas in 2025 this figure increased to $1.26 bln - a 14 fold increase. China, meanwhile, has risen to the level of a strategic investment partner: while $1.69 bln was received from China in 2019, by 2025 the neighbouring country had already contributed $2.83 bln in investment. This record could be surpassed again this year,” the financial analyst noted.
The period since 2019 has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, major disruptions to global supply chains, as well as inflationary and geopolitical shifts. Against this backdrop, competition among countries for foreign capital has intensified.
At the same time, investment activity in Kazakhstan has remained significant. Olzhayev attributes this outcome in part to the President’s personal involvement in negotiations with foreign businesses.
“Not a single year of his presidency has been uneventful. Oil prices did not rise above $60–65 per barrel. The entire world, including developed economies, was engaged in fierce competition for capital and investment. Under such conditions, attracting an average of $23 bln in investment annually was a remarkable achievement for Kazakhstan. It required personal meetings with businesses in each country and with the executives of specific enterprises. Tokayev found an approach to each of them. He was able to convince investors of Kazakhstan’s prospects and future, made no empty promises, but instead presented concrete figures and a roadmap and provided guarantees. And investors believed him. Today, no investor who has entered the Kazakh market regrets the decision - the country has proven profitable, and they receive tangible returns on their investments every year,” the analyst wrote.
The main result of recent years has been the expansion of Kazakhstan’s pool of major investment partners.
“Most importantly, the Head of State has created a new investment map for Kazakhstan. Investors are no longer represented solely by traditional partners such as the United States and the Netherlands - new players, including South Korea, Singapore and Qatar, have joined them. The geographical base of investors has expanded. Behind this stands seven years of relentless work,” Aibar Olzhayev concluded.
