Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the economic leader of Central Asia, generating nearly 60% of the region’s GDP thanks to its vast reserves of oil, gas, uranium, and minerals. In 2024, GDP growth reached 4.8%, driven by higher domestic demand, expanded lending, and increased oil production. According to the World Bank, growth is projected at 4.5% in 2025, with a potential slowdown to 3.5% by 2027 due to oil price volatility and reduced government subsidies. Hydrocarbon exports account for about 50% of national revenue, but Kazakhstan is actively diversifying into logistics, IT, green energy, and agriculture.

Kazakhstan ranks high in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index (25th place in 2020), offering favorable conditions for investors, despite ongoing challenges such as bureaucracy and corruption. Over the last decades, Kazakhstan has attracted more than $370 billion in foreign investments, primarily in the oil and gas sector, but also in infrastructure and renewable energy.

Kazakhstan plays a central role in regional and global economic unions, enhancing its attractiveness for investors:

• Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Provides duty-free trade between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, and Armenia, facilitating capital and goods movement.
• World Trade Organization (WTO): Membership since 2015 reduced average import tariffs to 5.3%, ensuring market openness.
• Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) & Organization of Turkic States: Strengthen ties with China, Russia, and Turkic nations.
• Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Kazakhstan serves as a key transit hub between China and Europe.
• Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC): Offers tax incentives and operates under English common law to attract global investors.

Kazakhstan is a key trade hub in Central Asia, linking China, Europe, CIS, and South Asia:

• Middle Corridor (TITR): Trans-Caspian route through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus, offering an alternative to Russian routes. Logistics accounted for 6.2% of GDP in 2022, with plans to reach 9%.
• Belt and Road Initiative: Kazakhstan hosts Chinese-financed infrastructure, including terminals in Xi’an and the port of Poti.
• EAEU Framework: Facilitates duty-free trade with Kyrgyzstan, especially in agriculture and textiles.

Regional cooperation is strengthening. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan created a joint commission in 2018 to boost trade and coordinate energy-water management. Kazakhstan is the second-largest export market for Kyrgyzstan, particularly for gold, agriculture, and textiles.

Kyrgyz companies have significant potential for collaboration with Kazakhstan thanks to EAEU membership, geographic proximity, and economic complementarities.

VM.Capital provides a unique strategy for international businesses to enter Kazakhstan efficiently by establishing a Kyrgyz entity first. This approach leverages Kyrgyzstan’s low-tax, business-friendly environment while ensuring seamless market entry into Kazakhstan under the EAEU framework.

Through a Kyrgyz company, clients gain:

• Simplified access to Kazakhstan’s market with fewer administrative barriers.
• Duty-free trade within the EAEU, covering agriculture, textiles, and manufactured goods.
• Optimized taxation through Free Economic Zones (e.g., Bishkek FEZ).
• Logistics flexibility with re-export opportunities to Kazakhstan, China, and beyond.
• Dual presence in two strategic markets with one corporate structure.

VM.Capital supports clients at every stage — from company registration and compliance to logistics setup, partner search, and joint ventures — ensuring smooth expansion into Kazakhstan and Central Asia’s wider trade network.