Nurlan Zhakupov, Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, spoke at the plenary session “From Transit to Transactions: Kazakhstan’s Rise as a Regional Finance and Trade Hub” as part of Astana Finance Days 2026.

During the discussion, the Head of the Fund outlined Samruk-Kazyna’s approach to attracting international capital and unlocking Kazakhstan’s investment potential.

Key takeaways:

✓ More than 120 projects are being implemented across the Fund’s Group in the energy, oil and gas, transport and logistics, industrial, and digital infrastructure sectors. Samruk-Kazyna is ready to act as a strategic partner for foreign investors and establish joint ventures to implement projects in Kazakhstan.

✓ Growing demand for electricity, natural gas, and the transportation of electricity, oil, gas, and petroleum products reflects economic growth and creates new investment opportunities.

✓ Kazakhstan is attracting growing interest from foreign investors as an attractive and secure jurisdiction. Partnerships with international companies help attract not only capital, but also technology, expertise, and access to new markets. Partners include TotalEnergies, Eni, Masdar, Sany, and others.

✓ Strategic industrial players and major banks are showing growing interest. Companies from the Chinese and European markets are entering Kazakhstan.

✓ Around $30 billion in foreign direct investment was attracted between 2019 and 2025.

Today, Kazakhstan has a large-scale investment portfolio, growing domestic demand, and strong interest from global businesses. The task is to turn this potential into concrete projects, transactions, and long-term partnerships. As Nurlan Zhakupov noted, now is the right time to invest in Kazakhstan’s economy.