In Turkmenistan, the volume of net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022 amounted to $936mn compared to $1.3bn a year earlier.
This is stated in the report "World Investment", prepared by experts of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In Central Asia, it is the third position after Kazakhstan with $6.1bn (up from $3.3bn a year earlier) and Uzbekistan with $2.5bn ($2.3bn). Net FDI inflows to the region in 2022 increased 39% year-on-year to $10bn.
Turkmenistan is a country rich in global gas reserves and significant oil resources. Ashgabat is counting on FDI to develop the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, which has estimated reserves of 12.1bn tonnes of oil and 6.1tn cubic metres of gas.
So far, the largest investors in the local market are oil companies Petronas (Malaysia) and Dragon Oil (UAE) operating under production sharing agreements.
The World Bank's official website says that apart from the hydrocarbon sector, FDI remains limited.
"Despite the growth of the private sector’s share in segments of the economy, public sector and state-owned monopolies continue to govern the economy and the formal labor market". Turkmenistan has been classified as an upper-middle-income country since 2012.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov
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