Kyrgyzstan attracted almost half of all Central Asian investment in the region

Kyrgyzstan has become the leader in Central Asia in terms of intra-regional foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a new analytical report by the Eurasian Development Bank, “Monitoring of Mutual Investment EDB-2024.”

According to the bank, Kyrgyzstan accounts for 49% of all intra-regional FDI in the region. By mid-2024, the volume of accumulated investments from Central Asian countries in the republic's economy reached $406 million. This is 23% more than at the beginning of 2023 and almost 1.8 times more than in 2020.

The main recipients of investment were the financial sector (44% of the total) and manufacturing (30%). At the same time, it was the manufacturing industry that showed the highest growth rates, up 58% over the past year and a half.

Kazakhstan remains the largest investor among the Central Asian countries, accounting for 92% ($374 million) of the total investment. The remaining 8% ($32 million) comes from Uzbekistan, which began active investment expansion in Kyrgyzstan in 2023.

Major projects in recent years include the construction of a solar power plant in the Issyk-Kul region (Kazakhstan), a textile factory in Kara-Balta (Uzbekistan), and deals by Kazakh investors in the Kyrgyz financial sector.