Ben Powell, BlackRock’s chief investment strategist for the Middle East and
Asia‑Pacific, said Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are increasingly on global
investors’ radar and are “indeed very attractive,” likening them to Gulf states
and India as emerging capital-inflow destinations. He highlighted Kazakhstan’s
pension and capital-market reforms as encouraging. Kazakhstan’s economy grew
4.1% YoY in the first eight months, led by manufacturing and construction;
Uzbekistan expanded 8.5% in H1. Strong growth, ongoing reforms and rising
interest in critical minerals are drawing capital — foreign investors have
placed roughly $2bn into Kazakhstan’s tenge‑denominated bond market since the
start of the year.
