Business Remains the Main Source of Investment in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities

Fixed capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities fell to KZT 98.3 billion in 2025, down 5% from a year earlier. In real terms, the decline in capital investment was more pronounced (physical volume index — 91.9%).

The decline followed two years of growth. In 2023, investment in the sector increased by 49.9% to KZT 90.4 billion (physical volume index — 144%), and in 2024 by another 14.4% to a record KZT 103.4 billion (physical volume index — 112.1%).

Most of the funds were traditionally allocated to the purchase of machinery, equipment and vehicles, as well as their major repairs. However, in 2025, such spending fell by 26.1%, from KZT 75.2 billion to KZT 55.6 billion, while its share of total investment declined from 72.7% to 56.6%. The reduction in spending on equipment was the main reason for the overall decline in capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities.

At the same time, spending on construction and major repairs of buildings and structures increased by 62.5%, from KZT 6.4 billion to KZT 10.4 billion, while its share rose from 6.2% to 10.6%. Other expenditures increased by 47.5%, from KZT 21.9 billion to KZT 32.3 billion, with their share rising from 21.2% to 32.9%.

Investment activity began to recover in the first half of 2026. In January–June, capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities reached KZT 36.4 billion, up 24% year on year (physical volume index — 116.7%). A year earlier, the figure had fallen by 52.4% to KZT 29.4 billion (physical volume index — 46.2%).

However, the current growth has yet to offset the previous decline. Investment in the sector in January–June this year remained 41% below the record level recorded in the same period of 2024, when it reached KZT 61.7 billion, which in turn was 4.2% below the first-half 2023 level. Overall, investment in January–June increased by 90.6% over the past ten years: in 2016, it stood at KZT 19.1 billion.

The recovery in capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities comes amid increased government attention to the development of science. In March 2026, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that investment in science had increased sixfold over the past five years and that more than 200 commercial projects had been launched in the country. At the same time, the president noted that the practical returns on funding remained insufficient: of more than 3 thousand applied research projects, 193 produced results suitable for commercialization, while only 29 projects reached the market. The government was tasked with improving the efficiency of the sector’s management and increasing investment in science and innovation several-fold, including through greater participation by private businesses.

Atyrau Region recorded the largest volume of capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities in the first half of 2026, at KZT 10.1 billion. The figure increased by KZT 7.5 billion year on year. The region accounted for 27.7% of total investment nationwide. The increase in Atyrau Region alone exceeded the overall increase across Kazakhstan, as investment declined in several other regions.

In Karaganda Region, capital investment in the sector amounted to KZT 5.1 billion, compared with KZT 5.3 billion a year earlier. In Almaty city, the figure fell from KZT 5.4 billion to KZT 4.6 billion. In Astana city, by contrast, investment increased from KZT 2.8 billion to KZT 3 billion. Together, Atyrau and Karaganda Regions, Almaty city and Astana city accounted for 62.6% of total capital investment.

The government is also expanding financial incentives for research and development. According to the government, funding for science from the national budget increased 3.5-fold over three years, reaching KZT 214 billion in 2026. The figure is planned to reach 1% of GDP by 2029. Businesses have been granted tax incentives of up to 300% of expenditures on funding scientific research, while subsoil users are required to allocate 1% of their extraction expenditures to R&D through a centralized mechanism.

In January–June this year, budget funds accounted for 2.3% of fixed capital investment in professional, scientific and technical activities. Funding from the national budget increased from KZT 191.9 million to KZT 782.6 million, while funding from local budgets fell by 77.1% to KZT 59.9 million.

Companies’ own funds remained the main source of capital investment. In January–June 2026, their volume increased by 24.1% to KZT 31.6 billion. Own funds accounted for 86.8% of all investment in the sector. Bank lending, by contrast, fell by 67.1% to KZT 292.1 million.

Non-bank borrowed funds increased by 43.2% to KZT 3.7 billion, accounting for around 10.1% of total investment. Within this category, funds from non-residents increased from KZT 64.9 million to KZT 745.6 million. Despite the high growth rate, however, they accounted for only around 2% of total investment.

Thus, despite the government’s push to increase funding for science, fixed capital investment in the broader field of professional, scientific and technical activities remains volatile. Investment increased in the first half of 2026 but remained below the levels recorded in the same periods of 2023 and 2024. The recovery was driven primarily by companies’ own funds, while regional growth was concentrated mainly in Atyrau Region. The shares of budget funds and bank lending in financing capital investment remained limited.