An EDB-hosted international forum of investors representing more than 40 countries starts in Almaty
Almaty, 15 May 2023. A major forum of investors from 40 countries has started in Almaty. The event is part of the 46th Annual Meetings of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).
It has brought together 240 delegates from major banks, investment funds, and development institutions from China, Turkey, Japan, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, the European Union, the U.S., Latin America, and the Middle East. The forum is hosted by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).
Yerulan Zhamaubayev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the EDB Council, delivered an inaugural address on behalf of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The head of state noted that, “Kazakhstan is consistently committed to mutually beneficial economic, investment, and trade cooperation on both regional and global scales.”
Mr Tokayev highlighted Kazakhstan's vast potential in sectors such as agriculture, petrochemistry, metallurgy, manufacturing, textile industries, transport, logistics, the financial sector, and tourism. He further underscored the nation’s priority of continuously improving the investment climate.
Last year alone, Kazakhstan managed to mobilise US $28 billion in foreign direct investment, a record high over a decade. “Total FDI amounts to a solid US $383 billion,” Mr Tokayev emphasised in his inaugural address.
He also expressed confidence that the international forum in Almaty will prompt investment cooperation across Asia and the Pacific and promote financial and economic cooperation among Kazakhstan and partners from the region.
Mominul Islam, ADFIAP Vice Chair and CEO at IPDC Finance (Bangladesh), inaugurated the forum. He noted that ADFIAP comprises 91 financial institutions from 40 countries across Asia and Oceania. The key members include the Asian Development Bank, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Business Development Bank of Canada, the China Development Bank, the Malaysia Development Bank, and the Industrial Development Bank of India. The EDB joined the ADFIAP Board of Directors in June 2022.
Mr Islam emphasised that ADFIAP and its Annual Meetings serve as a platform for discussing new joint projects aimed at achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and those outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.
As Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board, noted at the opening ceremony, this year’s agenda focuses on the role of national and international development institutions in transport, communications, energy, and digitalisation. “I am positive that this event provides an opportunity to exchange experiences in implementing such projects, discuss how best to combine the efforts of national and international development institutions, discover the vast investment potential of Central Asia, establish new connections, and enhance cooperation,” he said.
Yerbolat Dosayev, Mayor of Almaty, emphasised in his keynote address that the vector of global activity has indeed shifted to Asia, creating new development prospects.
“Today, with EDB co-financing, we are implementing large-scale projects in Almaty such as the conversion of CHPP 2 to gas, the expansion of Almaty International Airport, and the Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD). Investment in these projects totals US 2.2 billion,” he said.
Mr Dosayev also highlighted Almaty’s significance as the cultural, research, business, and financial hub of Kazakhstan, contributing a fifth of GDP (18.5% in 2022) and more than a quarter of its tax revenues. The city is home to 90% of the country’s bank headquarters and 111 offices of international organisations and businesses.
“Our main mission is to make Almaty a comfortable and safe city by attracting talent, technology, and investment from around the world. We particularly focus on green projects and initiatives such as the modernisation of transport, energy-efficient housing, and the upgrade of utilities,” he added and expressed confidence in fostering “further cooperation and implementation of such projects.”
The forum’s special session revolves around the theme of DFIs and Sustainable Infrastructure: Operating Models and Methods. It aims to showcase the potential of investment in infrastructure and ESG projects in Kazakhstan and Central Asia as the world’s fastest-growing region.
According to the EDB’s estimates, investment in Eurasia has surged 17-fold, to US $211 billion, over the past twenty years.
Kazakhstan's selection as the host for this high-profile international event is no coincidence. The country ranks 25th out of 190 countries in Doing Business 2020, having risen 57 notches in the past fifteen years, and accounts for 75% of all foreign direct investment mobilised in the region.
The forum aims to address at least four key structural challenges that face Central Asian countries and necessitate concerted effort: lack of access to the sea; an underdeveloped financial sector; inadequately managed water and energy complex; and climate change.
The event will span three days, from 15 to 17 May 2023.
Additional Information:
The Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) was established in 1976. ADFIAP is a major international business association comprising 90 member institutions in 39 countries, including non-regional members such as Canada, Germany, and France. Its mission is to promote sustainable economic, environmental, and social development and growth in the region.
The EDB has been a member of ADFIAP since 2022. The Bank’s charter capital totals US $7 billion. The EDB’s portfolio mainly consists of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digitalisation, green energy, agriculture, industry, and machinery. Its operations are guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles.
The event’s global communications partner is the Anadolu Agency, with media partners including BNE IntelliNews, Cronos Asia, FINANCEkaz, Kapital.kz, Kazakhstan today, Kursiv.media, LSM.kz, Tazabek, TRT, Delovoy Kazakhstan, the MIR TV channel, and the Khabar 24 TV channel.