Mongolia. The name itself conjures up images of warrior horse-lords, high-end cashmere, vast expanses of steppe, endless “ceremonial” toasts of vodka and fermented mare’s milk, and the legendary Genghis Khan (who, in my mind’s eye, looks a bit like Jason Momoa in HBO’s Game of Thrones). OK, maybe I’m the only one who thinks of alcohol, luxury dry goods and epic fantasy novels when I hear the word “Mongolia”, but those who know me well know not to expect anything less (or more) of me!

Mongolia boasts history’s largest contiguous empire on earth, which, during the 13^th century, stretched from Korea to Eastern Europe, and from Siberia to the Middle East. Factoring in non-contiguous empires such as the British and the Spanish empires, the Mongol empire still stacks up impressively, coming in second overall to the British Empire by a scant 700,000 square kilometers, or an area about the size of Texas. Today, Mongolia is poised for some empire-building of its own. Mongolia is one of the world’s most resource-rich democracies as well as one of its fastest growing economies. Positioned strategically between China and Russia, Mongolia is in an advantageous position to supply raw materials and resources to those two megaconsumer nations.

Mongolia is already attracting the attention of investment funds; just this month, Khan Investment Management launched the Khan Mongolia Equity Fund which was created to capitalize on the growth opportunities in Mongolia and give investors an opportunity to gain exposure to a rapidly growing country which harbors some of the world’s largest coal, copper, gold and uranium deposits. Travis Hamilton, the director of Khan, predicts for Mongolia “to have the fastest growing economy in the world over the next decade”, with growth driven by the nation’s mining sector.

I’ll raise a glass of vodka to that! But you can keep the fermented mare’s milk. More >>