In the same way that Japan and the 'Asian Tigers' grew aggressively, so other corners of Asia are developing today. So what's the best way to find out what's hot in the continent? Bengt Saelensminde explains.
There's a new industrial revolution going on and most investors today are completely missing it.
Today, you've got the opportunity to put your capital to work as if it were right at the start of a new industrial era. Imagine that: achance to put your capital in at a time when it really matters.
I'm talking about Asia. I really can't be more excited about some of the news I've been reading coming out of Asia at the moment. Yet most investors I talk to are woefully apathetic to the whole idea.
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Maybe they're wary of investing in Asia. But really, I think it's just laziness that keeps them from some of the best investment markets available. They're paid to look at Western markets, so that's what theydo.
Let me tell you about the new opportunity to get in on radical developments across Asia. A rich seam of new investment stories that very few in the West have yet to pick up on.
Consider this
Following the WWII collapse of Japan, something quite incredible happened. Rather than leaving the losers to stew in their post war ruins, the US helped to drag them out of the mire. Now, I'm not saying this was pure benevolence - of course the US ultimately looks after number one - but it's nonetheless true that the US helped Japan embrace their great economic miracle.
By investing in Japan and introducing new technologies, the US spearheaded Japan's rise to industrial prominence. At first copying technology from the States, the Japanese ultimately made a better job of it. During the great economic miracle of the 60s, 70s and 80s, it was an amazing time to be a shareholder in Japan.
And it was the same for the Asian tigers: South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan who were all in on the same astonishing economic miracle (save a 15 year time-lag).
Alas, these great triumphs were before my time. But I want to get in on the next big Asian thing. And I reckon now's thetime.
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The exciting new face of Asia
In the same way that Japan and the Asian Tigers developed aggressively, so other corners of Asia are developing today. Nations are shedding the shackles of a by-gone era and are gathering the capital needed to make the leap into modern day.
And you could be holding the capital to make this leap possible.
I'm not just talking about investing in grand infrastructure projects across India. Or property in Singapore. It's also about the basic goods that people buy when they get that bit extra income. Things like bank accounts, motorbikes, toothpaste and basic branded goods.
My friend and colleague Cris Sholto Heaton is out in Jakarta right now. He sees this new dawn in the Orient and he's getting stuck in. He knows there's only one way to get in and that's at the ground level. That's why he is spending the next few weeks meeting the management of companies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
And if, like me, you don't have the time to get out there and get stuck in, then you may want to take advantage of our man in the Orient.
Put your capital where it could earn serious returns
Just imagine if you'd put your current stash of savings in at the beginning of Japan's economic miracle. Imagine if you'd had the opportunity to invest in the companies that were to become the stalwarts of Japanese industry. At the time when nobody saw it coming.
Now the unfortunate thing for the majority of the locals in the markets Cris is looking at is that they don't get a look in - they haven't got the money. The Indonesians, Philippines and Vietnamese today simply don't have the capital to take advantage of this economic re-birth.
While that's sad, the fact that we hold capital that can transform these countries doesn't mean we should hold back.
The reality is that as these economies grow, they'll bring wealth and raise living conditions for society as a whole. Why not be in on the action?
I admire Cris for his get-up-and-go. He's doing the job that surprisingly few others are willing or able to do. He's out there talking to people, picking amongst the businesses and looking for the best opportunities.
But best of all, Cris is going to let us in on his best ideas. Now as you can imagine, to cover his costs (and in recognition of the amazing opportunities Cris could uncover) he's going to have to charge a serious fee for the insights he's gathering.
But Cris has agreed to give The Right Side readers a time-limited offer to trial his investment service.
Now these are obviously higher risk stocks than your FTSE 100 blue chips. The stories Cris is finding are often small companies that are only just emerging as Asian titans. And in a volatile economic region, they also have to deal with foreign currency risk and poor disclosure.
But I believe, when investing in the right companies, these risks are well worth taking when you consider the rich hidden seam of stories that are emerging outside the booming economies of China and India.
And Cris is so convinced that you're going to love his ideas and make money from them that he's offering you all that he has for just £1 on a one-month trial basis. I told him that he's crazy.
Why? Because he's not just giving you a month's service for free. He's also giving you every report he's written for his new Asia service - that's full access to his hard-worked archive of reports!
This article was first published on the 13th October in the free investment email The Right side.Sign up to TheRightSide here.
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Bengt graduated from Reading University in 1994 and followed up with a master's degree in business economics.
He started stock market investing at the age of 13, and this eventually led to a job in the City of London in 1995. He started on a bond desk at Cantor Fitzgerald and ended up running a desk at stockbroker's Cazenove.
Bengt left the City in 2000 to start up his own import and beauty products business which he still runs today.
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