Over the past two decades, Kazakhstan has emerged as an increasingly attractive destination for investors. Once considered a high-risk region, its economic resilience, structural reforms, and deeper integration into global markets have significantly improved its risk profile. Today, investors evaluating opportunities in the region benefit from more stable country risk premia, lower credit default swap (CDS) spreads, and a more favorable total equity risk premium.
As investors contemplate investments in Kazakhstan and Central Asia and consider trade offs between risks and returns, it may be helpful to take a step back and and compare the region with other parts of the world. Below please find my visualization of country risk premia, total equity risk premia and selected CDS levels by country based on the 2024 year-end
data from Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University.