The Israeli Business Community will Continue to Invest in Kazakhstan
About it, businesspersons have declared following the results of the webinar «Recent Events, New Developments», organized by the Embassy of Republic of Kazakhstan in Israel with support of Chamber of Commerce and Industry «Israel-Kazakhstan». Previously, a similar webinar was held for the business community in Switzerland.
Dan Catarivas, Head of Division of Foreign Trade and International Relations, Manufacturers Association of Israel, addressed the participants of the webinar with a welcoming speech, noting the importance of the long-standing cooperation between the two countries and the prospects for its development.
Chairman of Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry «Israel-Kazakhstan» Michael Roee spoke about the purpose of the information session - to inform representatives of the business community about the latest developments in Kazakhstan, and to familiarise them with the new economic course of the country. Nearly 50 representatives of Israeli companies were allowed to ask questions, including about the current investment climate in Kazakhstan and promising projects.
In his speech, Yerlan Zeineshev, Deputy Chairman of Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan noted that the recent meeting of the Foreign Investors Council, chaired by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, had a clear message: the «open door» policy for foreign investments remains our strategic priority. The state will continue to fulfill all its obligations and guarantees to our partners and investors.
Yerlan Zeineshev called on investors to strengthen cooperation, noting that Israel remains an important trade, economic, and investment partner for Kazakhstan, having invested over $240 million in our economy over the past 30 years.
Foreign direct investment from Israel to Kazakhstan in the first nine months of 2021 exceeded the pre-pandemic level and reached USD 5.3 million. USD. Today, over 160 companies with Israeli capital are operating in Kazakhstan.
It was noted that there is considerable potential for expanding investment and technological cooperation between Kazakhstan and Israel in areas such as agriculture, information technology, digitalization, healthcare, mining, and other sectors.
Altynay Mukanova, Country Manager of KAZAKH INVEST, made a presentation on investment opportunities in Kazakhstan. She spoke in detail about the current activities of KAZAKH INVEST in terms of investor support, touching on the prospects of development in the priority sectors of the country.
During the information session, it was noted that the Committee on Investments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, together with the Embassy and the Kazakh Invest team is ready to provide full support and assistance to all business and investment initiatives of Israeli businesspersons.
At the end of the webinar, investors received answers to their questions on investment preferences.
For reference:
According to the results of 9 months of 2021, gross FDI inflow to Kazakhstan amounted to $18.8 billion, which is 50% higher than in the previous year (9 months of 2020 - $12.6 billion).
Around 40 investment projects with foreign participation are implemented in Kazakhstan every year. Last year, 44 projects worth $3.6 billion were implemented, which enabled the creation of almost 7,000 permanent jobs (in 2019 - 40 projects, in 2020 - 41 projects).
The government's effective anti-crisis measures and the growing diversification of the economy contributed to a strong economic recovery last year. In 2021, real GDP growth was 4%, exceeding the initial forecast of 3.1%.
These trends have been positively assessed by international financial institutions. Last year, the rating agencies Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's, affirmed Kazakhstan's sovereign credit rating at investment grade strength.