The UAE’s investment stock in the Eurasian region showed steady annual growth between 2016 and 1H 2024. It has increased by 71% since 2016, reaching $12.2 billion at the end of 1H 2024. Over the past year and a half, the growth has been 18.4%, according to the new study by the EDB (Eurasian Development Bank).
According to the report titled “Mutual Investments on the Eurasian Continent: New and Traditional Partners”, the majority of these investments are concentrated in Central Asian countries, with the share of investments in this region remaining consistently high: 98% of the total in 2016 and 96% in 1H 2024. The projects represent different sectors: energy, extractive industries, construction, and others.
Turkmenistan is the largest recipient of FDI from the UAE, accounting for 65.4% of the total, or $8 billion, thanks to one project, but the largest in the region: the development of national oil fields.
Uzbekistan ranked second among investment recipient countries with a share of 17.85% ($2.2 billion) at the end of 1H 2024 due to its growth momentum. Over the past year and a half, investments have grown by a factor of 3.3, indicating the active development of economic cooperation between the UAE and Uzbekistan. The total number of active projects is eight.
Kazakhstan ranks third in the UAE’s FDI stock, with 12.3% of total investment, amounting to $1.5 billion. Investments in Kazakhstan have doubled since 2016, with growth of 12% since 2022
A large-scale renewable energy project has been launched in Kazakhstan. The UAE will develop a wind farm project, the first phase of which will see the commissioning of a 500 MW electricity generation facility with potential use of an energy storage system.
The sectoral structure of the UAE’s FDI stock in the Eurasian region is as follows: investments are clustered in extractive industries and electricity generation. Extractive industries account for 65.4% of the total investment stock, or $8 billion. Electricity generation accounts for 16.9% ($2.1 billion). There has been a significant increase in the amount of capital raised, particularly in the last year and a half —
almost three-fold. The total number of active projects is nine.
Major Projects of the UAE in the Eurasian Region
- Investment of Dragon Oil from the UAE in Turkmenistan. Since 2000, Dragon Oil has developed the Jeytun and Jygalybeg oil fields on the Turkmen shelf of the Caspian Sea. The investments totalled $8 billion in 1H 2024. The development contract was awarded in 2000 for 25 years, and in 2022 it was extended until 2035.
- Construction of Abu Dhabi Plaza, a mixed-use development in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of Aldar Properties. The total investment stock was $1,450 million in 1H 2024, while the total project budget is estimated at $1.6 billion. Construction started in 2010 and the first facilities were commissioned in 2020–2021.
- Construction of Zarafshan Wind Farm in Navoi Oblast, Uzbekistan, by the Mubadala company. The total investment stock was $540 million in 1H 2024.
- Modernisation of Talimarjan Thermal Power Plant (TPP) in Kashkadarya Oblast, Uzbekistan, with the Mubadala company. The project had an investment of $500 million in 1H 2024. The aim of the project is to acquire an 80% stake in the charter capital of the TPP, with subsequent modernization and capacity expansion.
The report “Mutual Investments on the Eurasian Continent: New and Traditional Partners” contains detailed information on the scale, dynamics, geographical and sectoral structure of mutual direct investment stock between the countries of the Eurasian region, on the one hand, and China, Türkiye, Iran, and the Gulf states, on the other hand, for the period from 2016 to the first half of 2024. The full text of the reports is available here: https://eabr.org/en/analytics/special-reports/mutual-investments-on-the-eurasian-continent-new-and-traditional-partners/ ///nCa, 20 February 2025