State support measures and preferences: what the state actually provides to an investor in Kazakhstan

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Key figures

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What changed on 1 January 2026 — and why the official website does not yet reflect it

From 1 January 2026 articles 286–290 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan have been repealed. In place of the former structure with a single investment contract and a three-tier classification of projects (“standard — priority — special”), articles 283-1 – 283-5 have been introduced together with three different types of agreement with the state, each with its own entry threshold, its own set of benefits and its own procedure. A new Tax Code.

came into force at the same time. One practical observation is worth making before anything else. As at the date of this paper — August 2026 — the official portal of the state investment promotion agency, in its section on investment preferences, still refers to article 290 of the Entrepreneurial Code, repealed more than six months ago, and works with the abolished classification of projects. We do not judge the reasons; we record the consequence: an investor planning a project from the official website without checking it against the text of the code will get an out-of-date picture of the benefits. All the rules below are given according to the legislation in force, not according to explanatory materials.

The second thing worth knowing straight away: the general mechanism for reimbursing part of the costs — the “investment subsidy” — has not been in force in Kazakhstan since 2021. Article 291 of the Entrepreneurial Code has been repealed, the rules for granting it have lapsed, and the 2026 reform did not restore it. Reimbursement of costs has survived only in sectoral form — for agriculture, aquaculture and exporters. Promises that “the state will refund up to 30% of your capital costs”, which still appear in presentations, refer to a rule that is five years out of date.

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Three types of agreement with the state

Thresholds under the investment agreement (in monthly calculation indices; the MCI in 2026 is KZT 4,325):

• tourism facilities in priority tourist areas — from 200,000 MCI (≈ KZT 865 million);
• new food and light industry facilities — from 1,000,000 MCI (≈ KZT 4.3 billion);
• 3–5 star hotels outside the capital and cities of republican significance, operating under a franchise of a chain of 1,000 hotels or more in ten or more countries — from 1,000,000 MCI;
• creation of new production facilities — from 2,000,000 MCI (≈ KZT 8.7 billion);
• expansion and modernisation of existing production facilities — from 5,000,000 MCI (≈ KZT 21.6 billion).

An important condition. Preferences are not granted in the absence of reciprocal obligations from the investor — this is an express rule, not a matter of practice. The share of the state and the quasi-public sector in a project is capped at 26% (50% for machine building), with mandatory exit within five years (twenty for machine building). If there is no exit, the preferences are suspended for up to a year, after which the contract is terminated and the benefits are recovered.

Who cannot obtain an investment agreement: participants in special economic zones, participants in Astana Hub and the Astana International Financial Centre, autonomous educational organisations, producers of spirits, alcohol and tobacco, and taxpayers under special tax regimes. Separately, there is a closed list of fifteen prohibited activities: subsoil use, trading in coal and oil, finance and banking, insurance, audit, the securities market, digital mining, dealing in digital financial assets, gambling, lotteries, excisable goods, weapons, radioactive materials, security services and credit bureaux.

The investment obligations agreement is an instrument for very large projects. The threshold is 75 million MCI over eight years, with at least half of that amount financed in the first four years; expenditure in favour of a related party counts for no more than half, and such a party must be a resident of Kazakhstan. From the second year of the agreement the investor must fund the training of Kazakhstani personnel annually in an amount of at least 20,000 MCI (about KZT 86.5 million). In return comes not a set of benefits but stability of tax legislation for ten years.

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What each preference actually provides

In-kind grant — this is state property transferred to the investor first for temporary free use and, once the obligations are performed, into ownership. What is transferred: land plots, buildings, structures, machinery and equipment, computing equipment, measuring instruments, vehicles (other than passenger cars) and production tools. The limit is 30% of the investment in long-term assets; where that is exceeded, the investor may receive the property requested by paying the difference. Valuation is at market value. During the term of the contract the grant may not be repurposed, leased out or sold; on termination it is returned in kind or at its initial value within 30 calendar days.

Two different notions of stabilityare constantly confused. Narrow stability under an investment agreement fixes only the parameters of the benefits already granted — the rates, coefficients and size of the reduction. Broad stability under an investment obligations agreement extends to tax legislation as a whole and lasts ten years. Both are annulled if the contract is terminated early — so the guarantee is conditional.

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Special economic and industrial zones

Special economic zones are a parallel regime and are not compatible with an investment agreement. A zone participant receives a 100% reduction of corporate income tax, land tax, property tax and the charge for the use of land plots — on income from the priority activities of that zone. For the Park of Innovative Technologies zone, social tax is added on condition that labour costs amount to at least 70% of total costs.

Since 1 January 2024 the term of the benefits has depended on the amount invested:

In addition: the free customs zone procedure means a zero rate of import duty, and goods within the zone are treated as being outside the customs territory of the EAEU. For projects above 1 million MCI, foreign labour is engaged outside quotas and without permits.

Zones in operation — 15 (according to the register of the state investment agency; individual sources cite 17, the discrepancy probably lying in whether zones under creation are counted):

Industrial zones are not the same thing. There are 55 of them, and they provide infrastructure: a prepared site with utilities, long-term lease or purchase of land at cadastral value, and no sectoral restrictions. An industrial zone carries no automatic tax benefits — these arise only on the conclusion of a separate investment contract. The practical difference: in a special economic zone the benefits follow from resident status, whereas in an industrial zone they have to be obtained separately.

Who cannot be a participant in a special economic zone: subsoil users, producers of excisable goods, taxpayers under special regimes, and the gambling business.

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Sectoral and special regimes

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Institutions: who does what

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Risks and constraints

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What this means for an investor

The choice of regime is the project’s first decision, not its last. The regimes are mutually exclusive: a participant in a special economic zone cannot conclude an investment agreement, and neither can a participant in Astana Hub or the Astana International Financial Centre. A mistake here can be corrected only by re-registration.

A guide by type of project:

What to check before applying:

1. 1Whether the activity falls within the closed list of those prohibited for an investment agreement.
2. 2Whether the investment threshold is reached and within what period — the thresholds are counted in MCI and rise with it every year.
3. 3What reciprocal obligations will have to be accepted and what happens if they are not performed: the benefits are recovered on any termination.
4. 4Whether the financial model relies on the “investment subsidy” — that mechanism has not existed since 2021.
5. 5Where a dispute would be heard.

And the main point about timing. Some benefits are tied to a contract that is concluded before the investment begins. Preferences are not granted retrospectively. A company that has registered, built a plant and only then come for benefits will be refused on formal grounds.

We take a project along this path in full: selecting the regime to fit the specific economics, preparing the application and the work programme, support through to the signing of the contract, and the reporting that follows. An analysis of the procedures for entering the country is on the page “For foreign investors”.

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Sources