At the Astana Finance Days 2024 panel session titled “Unlocking Investment Potential: The Role of Financial Institutions in Kazakhstan and the Region”, prominent leaders in finance and industry gathered to discuss the future of Kazakhstan’s economy and the role of global partnerships in driving growth, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.

Timur Suleimenov, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, emphasized the country’s economic achievements.

“I think we outpace everyone not only in Central Asia but more or less in the world in terms of GDP and FDI per capita. We have good financial reserves, more than 6 billion dollars. We have the National Bank reserves, more than 42 billion and we have a pension fund. Therefore, in general, the state reserves that we can rely on are about 150 billion dollars.”

He also pointed to the critical role the Astana International Financial Center will play in advancing Kazakhstan’s financial landscape.

Kanat Sharlapayev, Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan, discussed the rapid growth of the construction sector, which is currently expanding at a rate of 8.7%.

“What you do if your construction grows at that pace, you outpace the infrastructure growth. And now I think for us it’s time to step back and reconsider the actual foundation of that growth, which is infrastructure. We need to focus on making sectors like water treatment, roads, power generation, and power transmission more investable,” says Sharlapayev.

George Grunebaum, Global Head of Distribution at Ashmore, British investment manager dedicated to the emerging markets, shared his perspective on Kazakhstan’s progress in structural reforms and financial transparency.

“Kazakhstan has made significant progress over the years, which is one of the reasons we’ve been long-term investors in its public markets,” says Grunebaum.

However, he also pointed out a challenge for emerging markets:

“Whenever there are tax cuts or other favorable policies in the U.S., global investors tend to flock back to the U.S., which can be challenging for emerging markets. I find this very frustrating as an emerging markets investor, because there are wonderful opportunities in EM, but people are massively overweight developed markets and underweight EM,” notes Global Head of Distribution at Ashmore.

Dr. Karim El Solh, Co-Founder and CEO of investment firm Gulf Capital, spoke about his company’s operations in Kazakhstan and plans for future expansion.

“We have several companies operating here in sectors such as water management, environmental services, and fintech. We’re also exploring opportunities to bring in healthcare, health tech, and fintech companies. This is a large and rapidly growing market. I’m particularly impressed with the region’s economic diversification and momentum,” notes El Solh.

He expressed excitement about the region’s economic momentum and the potential to connect Kazakhstan with other markets, particularly in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.