In an exclusive interview with OilPrice.com, Jim Rogers
declared Myanmar to be
the best investment opportunity in the world
, with North Korea not far behind.
His exact words were:
"Probably the best investment opportunity in the world right
now is Myanmar. In 1962, Myanmar was the richest country in Asia.
They closed off in 1962, and now it's the poorest country in
Asia. I see enormous opportunities there because they're now
opening up. It's like when China opened up in 1978. There were
unbelievable opportunities going forward. The same is true in
Myanmar now in my view. North Korea, I expect to see the same
sorts of developments."
Both countries are difficult to access. There are no ETFs
dedicated to Myanmar, and certainly not North Korea. As Emerging
Money reported in April, one way to
access Myanmar is through Thailand
. "Thailand is Myanmar's largest export market and second largest
import market, the latter of which is set to boom with an easing
of import restrictions and a progressively freer Myanmar
market."
The way to invest in Thailand is through the MSCI Thailand
Investable Market Index Fund (
THD
,
quote
). This allows you to indirectly profit from Myanmar, and
directly benefit from Thailand's business relationship with the
country.
Another way to access Myanmar is by investing in the entire
region, known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). Formed on August 8, 1967 the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of
ten countries located in Southeast Asia
. The original membership included Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then additional
countries include Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos,
and Vietnam.
The opportunity in the region is great, and Myanmar is
certainly in a position to benefit. Until it becomes more
accessible we have to be satisfied investing in the entire region
or specific countries like Thailand. Here are a few data points
regarding the ASEAN region:
- According to the
Financial Times
, by 2015 economists expect the ASEAN region to consist of a
middle class of 300 million people driving consumption and
economic growth.
- The World Federation of Exchanges states that ASEAN
countries have a combined market larger than India, Brazil and
Russia - that's a stock market capitalization of approximately
$2.09 trillion.
-
China Daily
reports that in 2011, the ASEAN region overtook Japan as China's
third largest trading partner. Trade increased 24% to $362.3
billion in 2011 and is expected to exceed $500 billion by 2015.
The ASEAN region is expected to become China's top trading
partner.
With all this great activity and Mr. Rogers proclamation
Myanmar is the "best investment opportunity in the world" I
suggest taking a look at the Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF (
ASEA
,
quote
). "The Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF seeks to provide investment
results that correspond generally to the price and yield
performance, before fees and expenses, of the FTSE/ASEAN 40
Index." This fund is a great way to invest in the ASEAN region
but it has its shortcomings. It only invests in the five original
members: Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and
Malaysia. Not unlike THD, you will be receiving indirect benefit
from Myanmar. But this is as good as it gets for now.
If the prognostications are correct and Myanmar is able to
successfully continue its path toward freer trade and
capitalistic growth, I would expect ASEA and more funds to come
will expand their country diversification and become even more
targeted.
Ultimately it is obvious that any investor looking toward
future growth needs exposure to the ASEAN region. I think Mr.
Rogers may be correct about Myanmar. Now, what did he say about
North Korea?
