"It's only three more stations that way!" my friend Dan shouted, as we brisk-walked along the busiest street in Bangkok, Thailand.
After spending nearly three hours on foot, I couldn't wait to reach Bang Na Station...
As soon as we got there, I could finally hop on the air-conditioned SkyTrain back to our apartment on the corner of Asok and Sukhumvit Road.
This took place about a decade ago, mind you... in one of the most densely populated and hottest cities in Asia.
The thing is, Bang Na Station – the last stop on the eastbound line – wasn't even there the year before. Neither was the station that came before that.
This got me thinking about a great investment opportunity most people visiting this part of the world often take for granted.
Let me explain...
Bangkok is a megacity. It has the same population as the entire New York metropolitan area... but with just one-fifth the land mass. So it's easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle.
But on my visit, I saw Bangkok was a lot more than just a big city. You could literally see it growing right before your very eyes.
The SkyTrain alone was proof of this.
First opened in 1999, it initially had two lines servicing 23 stations within a 22-kilometer route.
By the time Dan and I were becoming familiar with the crevasses and loose bricks along the sidewalks on Sukhumvit, the SkyTrain had expanded to nearly 30 stations. And more construction was ongoing.
Riding the SkyTrain was cheap. It had to be, for the millions of people who needed to use it. But it was also efficient. It seemed like every station was thoughtfully designed to feed into a shopping mall, hotel, or major university.
Today, the same two lines service 52 stations throughout metropolitan Bangkok along a 54-kilometer route.
The SkyTrain is owned and operated by BTS Group. And here's the thing... Investors who bought shares in BTS Group when it first listed in October 2011 nearly quadrupled their money eight years later.
I saw a similar story play out in Hong Kong – back when it was still making the shift from San Francisco-inspired cable cars to subways in the early 2000s...
The MTR Corporation grew from just one line to 11 lines serving a population three times the size of Chicago, but with just twice the land mass. And its shares have more than tripled since listing in Hong Kong.
These are the kinds of opportunities that don't exist for the most part in the U.S. today. But in Asia, these things are happening almost everywhere you look.
It's not just happening with trains, either. More airports, seaports, shopping malls, and schools are being built in Asia than anywhere else... along with the roads and highways that connect to them.
Living here is like living in the middle of a gold rush – only instead of companies finding undreamed-of success providing prospectors with picks and shovels, they're making a fortune providing Asia's growing middle class with the same things you enjoy.
Simply put, there's opportunity just about everywhere you look in emerging Asia. And as an investor, you should be taking advantage of it.
Good investing,
Brian Tycangco
P.S. The current setup in emerging markets is one I've waited for my entire career. And it's one I expect will result in many triple- and even quadruple-digit winners for my readers. I recently detailed exactly what's going on in a free presentation... You can watch it for free right here.
Further Reading
In an emerging market, you can measure the growth of the middle class in a variety of ways. Brian has identified a shocking trend in Asia that paints a clear picture of where this growth is happening today, and how to profit... Read the full story here: An Investment Trend You Can't Afford to Ignore.
"Here's the thing you must understand," Brian writes, "China was just the opening act." While the easy money has already been made in China, the "Next Chinas" are just getting set up for major growth... Get the full story here: The Perks of Going 'Back to the Future.'
Asia is home to some of the best investment opportunities out there today. And this rising smartphone maker is at the top of the list...
HIGHS AND LOWS
NEW HIGHS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
Charter Communications (CHTR)... cable provider
Maxar (MAXR)... satellites
Caterpillar (CAT)... heavy machinery
Deere (DE)... heavy machinery
Graco (GGG)... industrial supplier
Novo Nordisk (NVO)... drugmaker
FedEx (FDX)... parcel delivery
Dollar General (DG)... discount retail
Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS)... sporting goods
McDonald's (MCD)... burgers and fries
Penn National Gaming (PENN)... gambling
NEW LOWS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
HSBC (HSBC)... British bank
Telefónica (TEF)... telecom
Spire (SR)... utility
Northwestern Natural (NWN)... utility
