Renegade Economists podcast 261

As broadcast on 3CR Wed Nov 8th, 2012

Mongolian Monopolies: We visit the world’s fastest growing economy to discuss the magic millions forumula of mining boom plus land game with journalist Michael Kohn

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An excerpt from Michael’s article Property Boom in Mongolia:

An American private equity fund manager named Lee Cashell flew to Ulan Bator from Hong Kong 11 years ago and bought three Soviet-era apartments with US$30,000 he had borrowed from a friend.

He fixed them up, sold them for a profit and started a boutique real estate business.

Cashell quickly went from flipping apartments to building them. Today, his US$155 million firm, Asia Pacific Investment Partners, owns a cement factory and several apartment blocks with retail projects in the pipeline. He hopes to list his company on the Hong Kong exchange in the next 18 months.

His story is as much about entrepreneurship as Mongolia’s economic development and real estate boom. Property prices have doubled in the past five years.