The US State Department has drawn up a portrait of Kazakhstan for investors, in which big figures sit alongside some very inconvenient caveats. The doors are open for capital, but foreign companies, as the report says, are still asking for the rule of law, predictable taxes and transparent regulation.
WHERE THE CAPITAL CAME FROM AND WHY THE FIGURE IS INCOMPLETE
According to a report by the US State Department, as of 1 January 2026 accumulated foreign direct investment, that is, foreign companies' investment in business inside the country, stood at $170 billion. The US accounted for $35.5 billion. The authors of the report emphasise that real American investment in hydrocarbons is probably higher. The money comes through third countries, and reinvested profit is not fully captured in bilateral statistics.
Kazakhstan's economy, it is reported, rests above all on favourable commodity prices. In 2025 foreign trade grew, and China replaced Russia as the main trading partner.
WHAT THE NEW TAX CODE CHANGED
In January 2026 Kazakhstan introduced a new Tax Code. Value added tax (VAT) rose from 12 to 16%, for medicines it is 5%, for medical services 10%. The corporate tax rate now depends on the sector: a maximum of 25% for banks, 5 and 10% for agriculture and healthcare.
The code also introduced a tax on dividends, broadened the definition of royalties (regular payments for the right to use someone else's property, most often intellectual) and revised the rules for non-residents. It is precisely royalties, international taxation and the abolition of deductions under contracts with individual entrepreneurs that concern the State Department's analysts.
WHERE FOREIGN CAPITAL HITS A CEILING
The law formally puts foreign and local investors on an equal footing, but restrictions still exist. The share of foreigners in the media cannot exceed 20%, in air transport 49%. Foreigners are forbidden from owning agricultural land and pension funds.
Amendments to the Subsoil Code of December 2025 raised the national atomic company Kazatomprom's share in new uranium projects from 50 to 75%, and in exploration projects to 90%. The national oil company KazMunayGas and the gas company QazaqGaz received the right to at least 50% in new contracts in insufficiently developed areas.
There is no investment screening system based on national security criteria in the country. And public procurement, according to the State Department's estimates, is often more advantageous to local players. We, incidentally, consider such an approach entirely natural: state contracts should above all work to support domestic business.
WHY THE COURTS REMAIN THE MAIN QUESTION OF TRUST
Formally the judicial system is independent, but, as the authors note, the executive branch interferes in its work. In the 2024 ranking by the international organisation Freedom House, Kazakhstan scored 1.25 points out of 7 for judicial independence.
The workload on the court and arbitration centre of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which operate under the norms of English common law, is growing. The number of completed cases rose from 5 in 2019 to 1,284 in 2025. The government remains the respondent in four pending cases at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). According to investors, at least once the authorities launched criminal proceedings when the parties were approaching a settlement agreement.
THE STATE IS LEAVING THE ECONOMY SLOWLY
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has aimed his reforms at diversification and reducing state participation. The privatisation programme for 2026–2030 has already produced results: as of 31 March 2026, 997 of 2,068 organisations had been sold for $3.3 billion. At the same time, as of 1 January 2026, there were 26,012 state-owned enterprises in the country.
Corruption is mentioned separately in the report. American companies cite it in disputes as a serious obstacle to new investment. Non-commercial organisations, as the text says, face restrictions, especially if they conduct independent investigations or criticise state bodies.
