🌟 Kazakhstan as a Rising Star: Why the Axis with Türkiye Is Now Serious
In recent years, Kazakhstan has evolved from a "country of cultural ties" into a key economic hub of Eurasia, and for businesses operating between Türkiye and Central Asia, this changes the game.
Why Kazakhstan has surged ahead.
After 2022, the northern route through Russia virtually closed due to sanctions, while the southern route grew costlier due to tensions around Hormuz and the Red Sea. Against this backdrop, the Middle Corridor rose: China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye. Freight traffic along it has grown approximately tenfold since 2022. Kazakhstan is an even more indispensable link here than Türkiye, and it is investing in this seriously: an infrastructure program worth nearly $10 billion, railway expansion, a fleet on the Caspian Sea, and the integration of land, sea, and air.
An economy, not merely transit.
The figures speak for themselves: a GDP of around $320 billion, the only Central Asian country in the world's top 50 economies. In 2025, Kazakhstan surpassed Russia in per capita income within the CIS. Average growth stands at around 5.5% per year, and it alone accounts for roughly 68% of the entire region's investment stock. Diversification (fintech, data centers, digital infrastructure, manufacturing) is bearing real fruit rather than remaining mere rhetoric alongside oil.
And here is the key point for our topic: the capital flow has become bidirectional. Previously, Turkish companies (construction firms, pharma, holding groups) invested in Kazakhstan. Now the reverse has also unfolded: in 2025, Kazakhstan became the number one investor in Türkiye. First, one Kazakh super-app acquired a stake in a major Turkish e-commerce platform for $1.1 billion and added a banking license. Soon after, a second Kazakh fintech holding listed on NASDAQ entered Türkiye through a brokerage and subsequently agreed to acquire nearly 100% of a Turkish bank. Two independent players from the same country entering Turkish banking almost simultaneously is no longer a coincidence, but a trend. Institutional ties between the two countries have begun to be built bidirectionally and in earnest.
A separate note on the AIFC—and this is critical for structuring.
The Astana International Financial Centre is founded on English common law with its own independent court, setting it apart in the region. In terms of scale and depth, it still trails Dubai and Singapore, and questions regarding legal predictability still linger. However, an English common law platform with an independent court is precisely what investors look for, and the potential here is high.
What an entrepreneur takes away from this:
- The Middle Corridor is not geopolitics, but the logistics of your goods. If you transport cargo between Asia and Europe, the route through Kazakhstan and Türkiye has become shorter and more predictable than the northern and southern routes. This directly impacts delivery times, insurance, and costs.
- Capital moves along this axis in both directions. Kazakh capital flows into Türkiye; Turkish capital flows into Kazakhstan. Establishing a structure along this corridor means moving with the current rather than fighting it.
- The AIFC is a functional instrument, not a showcase. An English-law jurisdiction with an independent court at the heart of Central Asia is a compelling reason to consider Astana as a second structural pillar alongside Türkiye, especially for those looking at the entire region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan) rather than a single country.
- Factor in the risks as well. Kazakhstan's dependence on oil has not been structurally resolved, the private sector in places borrows in foreign currency against tenge revenue, and the currently strong tenge is supported by cyclical inflows. This must be accounted for, just like currency risks in any developing jurisdiction.
The bottom line is simple: the Türkiye plus Kazakhstan link has ceased to be a presentation theory. Freight, capital, and banking licenses are already moving across it. Those who build their business and corporate structure with an eye toward both pillars of this corridor will find themselves right where the world is only just turning.