More than $2.7 billion (over 1.2 trillion tenge) in potential investments are set to flow into Almaty, Kazakhstan following a major business forum with partners from Shanghai, China.

Kazakh and Chinese companies held direct negotiations and signed a series of agreements and memorandums aimed at launching large-scale joint investment projects, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

Almaty’s mayor, Darkhan Satybaldy, said the city is actively studying Shanghai’s experience in integrated urban development and modern transport solutions. He noted that Almaty is keen to attract Shanghai-based construction firms, architectural bureaus, and engineering companies to participate in major infrastructure projects. The city already hosts around 6,000 companies with Chinese participation.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng announced plans to expand cooperation with Almaty across key sectors, including finance, mechanical engineering, logistics, and green energy, as well as innovation and high-tech industries.

The forum brought together dozens of major companies such as Bank of China, SAIC Motor, Shanghai Construction Group, and YTO Express, alongside representatives from the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.