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 gr

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.