The potential economic opening of North Korea after the historic agreement with the United States could bring enormous commercial opportunities .
This is supported by investment guru Mark Mobius , executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group and founder of Mobius Capital Partners.
The main economic points of interest of Mobius are the infrastructures, mining activities , and the 25 million inhabitants of North Korea which among other things could represent a considerable opportunity for investors if they were added to the 50 million of South Korea:
“This would mean a much larger market share and for me the most exciting thing is the opportunity to have a bridge between South Korea, China and Russia, because then there could be railways and roads that cross North Korea to reach these huge nations. It is an extraordinary opportunity “.
North Korea huge opportunity: the Trump-Kim meeting is crucial
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are veterans of the Singapore summit, which saw the leaders of the two historically opposing countries gather in a day of confrontation and agreement. The document signed at the end of the meeting offers peace prospects and announces the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula , even if the details remain obscure and there are no real deadlines or a more specific definition of what is meant by ‘denuclearization’.
For his part, Trump said he was ready to remove the economic sanctionsthat for decades have left North Korea out of international markets, even if for now they will remain in force.
Investors have already taken into consideration the massive, disciplined and relatively inexpensive workforce of North Korea, although some doubt that the population will manage to keep up with a modern economy, considering the closure of the country to the rest of the world. But Mobius remains confident about the potential of the North Korean workforce:
“North Korea could recover quickly, because there the training is quite good and – let’s face it – look what they have developed: nuclear weapons represent a technological prowess of surprising proportions. So I think they could come back very quickly and South Korea could help them with that. “
South Korea, for its part, has already offered the granting of aid and trade as part of potential peace agreements.
North Korean mining reserves are worth $ 6 trillion
In addition to the workforce, North Korea potentially has trillions of dollars in natural resources: the North Korea Resources Institute in Seoul estimated in 2013 that the country’s mineral reserves could be worth $ 6 trillion . But analysts warn of ruined infrastructure and lack of reliability when it comes to repatriating profits from the country led by Kim Jong-un, so much so that a Chinese company has defined its operation as “a nightmare” .