Monday, October 29th, 2007
Guess Which Asian Index Jumped 80% This Year?
From Our U.K. Affiliate MoneyWeek Magazine
Most people associate Bangladesh with catastrophic floods and chronic instability, but that country has actually come a long. According to the International Monetary Fund, growth is set to reach 7% this year, a 30-year high.
A military-backed government has pushed through a series of reforms, and 26 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are slated for sale.
“It’s a quantum leap in the mindset of the government…that they’re embracing privatization,” says Yawer Sayeed, CEO of the first and only private fund manager in the country. Newfound political stability has encouraged foreign investment, and consumer consumption is also on the rise.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange Index has risen by about 80% this year amid these improved conditions. The market’s total value is a tiny $8 billion, says Pooja Thakur on Bloomberg.com, but it’s expected to double to more than $15 billion as privatizations provide further impetus and the market appears on foreign investors’ radar screens.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER), and Citigroup Inc. (C) – which last month became the first foreign lender to acquire a license to offer investment banking services – all reckon Bangladesh may be the “next Asian success story,” says Thakur.
Jim Rogers: China’s Expansion Depends on Water
Oil isn’t China’s most precious resource. China must spend $162 billion in the next five years to clean up its polluted rivers-as nearly 40% of them are undrinkable. "China has a huge water problem," Legendary investor Jim Rogers says. "…If they don’t solve it, or if they don’t solve it in time, then China has failed." Find out which six global water treatment powerhouses are set to make “liquid profits.”
