The Rise of the State: Profitable Investing and Geopolitics in the 21st Century

13. The Asian Frontiers: Mongolia, Cambodia, Vietnam

Frontier markets are by nature much riskier than developed and emerging ones. They’re generally overlooked by the majority of investors, which makes their assets relatively inexpensive. Initially they are the playground of private equity firms willing not only to wait but also to increase their investments when actual risks reduce to perceived ones. When this transition occurs there’s no better time to invest in a frontier market.¹

The main characteristics of a frontier market are a relatively youthful population, relatively open economic policies, and increasing urbanization. The latter is also the foundation of the investment case for Asia.

The urbanization process holds great promise for ...