The gross inflow of direct invest to Kazakhstan from foreign investors stood at $4,278.5m in the first quarter of 2016. This is 23% and 2.7% down on the same period of 2014 and 2015. In January-March the net inflow of direct investment in Kazakhstan, including investment in debt instruments and company capital, stood at $2,675.1m in January-March.
At the same time, the gross outflow of direct investment from Kazakh investors was estimated at $687.8m, 210% more than in January-March 2014 and 1.3% compared with the first quarter of 2015. The net outflow of direct investment did not exceed $59.3m.
As a result, net direct investment in Kazakhstan exceeded direct investment by Kazakh companies abroad by $2,615.8m in the given period. As of March 2016, cumulative foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan stood at $121,318.1m and Kazakh direct investment abroad at $24,079.4m.
Most direct investment was placed in geological prospecting and exploration ($1,511.8m) and mining ($1,163.2m). Foreign direct investment in the processing sector stood at $509m in January-March 2016.
The Netherlands remained the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, largely by investments made by companies and international consortia registered in this country in the oil and gas sector in Kazakhstan, with $1,604.5m in January-March 2016. The US and Switzerland were the other largest investors with $875.5m and $527.3m respectively.