Hong Kong Small and Medium Listed Companies Association Visits Kazakhstan to Explore New Opportunities Anchored in the "Pyramid of Investment Opportunities"

The Hong Kong Small and Medium Listed Companies Association has issued a statement: On September 14, a delegation led by Chong Bin, Chairman of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Listed Companies Association, and Wang Dan, Chief Advisor, traveled to Kazakhstan to carry out a study visit. In Astana, they visited the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, KAZAKHINVEST (Kazakhstan's national investment company), the AIFC (Astana International Financial Centre), and Astana Hub (Astana International Science and Technology Innovation Park). The association's trip focused on examining investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, with particular attention to its policy priorities, project pool, and financial and technological innovation ecosystem, resulting in a structured overview of the "Pyramid of Investment Opportunities in Kazakhstan" to provide a reference for Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific enterprises seeking to connect with the Central Asian market. Kazakhstan is currently in an investment window period as it transitions from "selling resources" to "deep processing + green transformation." According to Kazakh plans, US$400 billion in investment is to be attracted from 2026 to 2029; after the constitutional referendum in March 2026, "national treatment for foreign investors" was written into the constitution for the first time. Kazakhstan's Investment Pyramid: The Ranking Logic and Key Sectors from T0 to T3 In Kazakhstan's 2026 national investment portfolio, chemicals and oil and gas chemicals account for 42%, transport and logistics 19.6%, and energy (including new energy) 12.1%, with the three together exceeding 73%this allocation of funds already outlines the country's current investment priorities. Ranked comprehensively along three dimensions"national strategic priority corporate competitive advantage degree of capital inflow"Kazakhstan's investment opportunities can be divided into four tiers: T0 comprises new energy and oil and gas chemicals, representing top-tier opportunities, with GW-level projects already implemented; in the new energy sector, projects such as the 1 GW wind power plus storage project in Pavlodar and the 500 MW wind-plus-storage project in Karaganda have already been implemented, and green hydrogen equipment has been put into operation; oil and gas chemicals account for 42% of national investment, with a large gap in deep processing; T1 comprises critical minerals, cross-border logistics, and agricultural processing, representing high opportunities, with clear policies and relatively large gaps; critical minerals are mainly exported as raw ore, and the Kazakh side has clearly shifted toward deep processing; cross-border logistics is a core node of the Trans-Caspian Corridor, accounting for 19.6% of the 2026 investment portfolio; agricultural processing has the advantages of organic agriculture and low-cost land; T2 comprises the digital economy, automobile manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare, representing medium- to long-term positioning; the digital industrial park is under construction, Chinese automakers have already built assembly plants in Kazakhstan, and dependence on imported medicines is relatively high; T3 comprises water treatment and environmental protection, culture and tourism, and battery recycling, representing early-stage cultivation; demand for water treatment and environmental protection exists over the long term, battery recycling is still awaiting a large-scale expansion of new energy installed capacity, and tourism infrastructure is still being improved. This pyramid structure provided the association with an analytical framework for observing Kazakhstan's investment priorities during this trip, and the three-stop engagements also unfolded along these lines. Three-Stop Engagements Centered on the Investment Pyramid At the first stop, the association delegation visited the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs and held talks with Chamber Vice Chairman Galym Uzbekov. This institution is Kazakhstan's largest and most broadly representative autonomous organization of entrepreneurs, with more than 2 million business entities as members, 20 regional branches and more than 180 business support centers, and a Chamber of Foreign Trade of Kazakhstan under it; its 2026 strategic priorities include digital transformation and AI applications, reducing administrative barriers, and export support. The topics of the visit included using its B2B platform and service center network to provide landing support for Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific enterprises entering the Kazakhstan and Central Asian markets, as well as SME cooperation and investment referrals. At the second stop, the association delegation met and exchanged views at KAZAKHINVEST (Kazakhstan's national investment company) with Khabdrashtov Azat Rakhitovich, Vice Chairman of the company's board of directors. This institution is Kazakhstan's sole national investment promotion agency and operates a "one-stop" service. As of August 2026, its project pool contained a total of 215 projects worth US$78.6 billion, of which 93 had been implemented, worth US$32.2 billion, and 122 were in preparation, worth US$46.4 billion; key industries include manufacturing and processing, deep processing, high technology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure; new policy tools include the investment agreement mechanism, the Fast Track green channel, and the "availability payment" mechanism. China's cumulative investment in Kazakhstan is about US$25 billion; HKEX has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the AIFC, and a direct Hong KongAlmaty flight is planned to open in the first quarter of 2027. The topics of the visit included capital cooperation opportunities in the project pool, pathways for Kazakh enterprises to list or issue bonds in Hong Kong, and cooperation in green finance, digital infrastructure, and AI. At the third stop, the association delegation visited the AIFC (Astana International Financial Centre) and Astana Hub (Astana International Science and Technology Innovation Park). The AIFC adopts English common law and an independent regulatory system, and has a stock exchange, a fund platform, and a financial regulatory sandbox; Astana Hub provides zero-tax incentives, visas for foreign talent, incubation and acceleration, and venture capital support; together, the two form the country's core ecosystem of "technological innovation + capital." The topics of the visit included special economic zones, AIFC tax incentives and legal conveniences, the conditions for applying the "availability payment" mechanism, and pathways for enterprises to list or issue bonds in Hong Kong. The planned 2026 IPO by KTZ railway company on HKEX, the London Stock Exchange, and the AIFC was also included in the discussions. With the conclusion of the three-stop visit in Astana, the association's Kazakhstan trip has entered the follow-up stage. Unlike a general study visit, the association went with a clear framework and returned with specific information. Next, the association will internally organize the policy conditions, project information, and financial pathways obtained during the visit, and form matching guidelines by industry and investment tier for member enterprises' reference.