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219 of 225 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good to be a bull in China without BS (4.5 stars), December 3, 2007
For a book whose the back-cover screams "Indiana Jones of Investing", the author thankfully sets realistic expectations in the introduction chapter and adopts a sane tone (different from the cheerleader hysteria or end of the world tone adopted by most investing books). Rogers starts off by saying that "this is not a catalog of hot tips or even recommendations", but a "survey of happenings" in China. The reader is well served with that approach. He also re-iterates his oft stated opinion - short the dollar, long commodities, and learn Chinese!
In the first chapter, Rogers takes the reader through the different shares classes in China and some history on the evolution of the stock exchanges in that country. Chapter 2 provides his assessment of the different risks faced by China. His bias towards investing in China as opposed to India is quite apparent in a rather superficial comparison (readers wanting a more detailed comparison could benefit from a recent book - The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us). It is hard to argue that the first two chapters provide the informed reader anything substantially new, but positioning that discussion with a quasi-travelogue is very entertaining.
Throughout the book, Rogers provides a list of companies that are relevant to the trends/observations in a section (Jims Sino Files!). To me, these lists seemed like an excellent way to understand the landscape of Chinese economy (high level, but still a good picture) and to create a watch list for IPOs! An overwhelming majority of the companies in the list do not trade as ADRs - most in Hong Kong or only in China. Rogers mentions where the stock is traded if at all, and provides the 3 year trends on profits and revenues. (sadly, it doesn't have any information on operating margins). Listing the companies along with his observations on a particular topic, as opposed to burying them in an appendix is a good choice.
Chapter 2 also talks about aero-defense-industrial materials sector companies, with the section on water purification the most interesting. The third chapter focuses on household names ranging from grocers to insurance companies and also highlights the top 5 innovators. (one wonders the lead time for editing these books, because the author still has Alibaba's IPO as a planned one...any reader who has watched CNBC or reading blogs should be aware that this was a big deal a few weeks ago...). The next chapter focuses on the energy sector. Using some startling statistics (most of them are cited, so a reader has to be content with the interpretation Rogers provides) talks about coal, hydro-electricity, wind power and nuclear energy. The list of companies involved in these sectors is an excellent source for China watchers/investors. (while Rogers identifies some companies that derive indirect benefit from these trends, some omissions is intriguing - Fuel Tech (FTEK) for coal industry is one of them). Chapters 5 and 6 talk about transportation and tourism respectively - the latter providing a much better reading than the former. The next chapter on agriculture is perhaps the most unique discussion in the book. Covering a wide range of topics from seeds to fertilizers to animal husbandry to wineries, the chapter paints a very vivid picture of the agriculture sector and identifies the key players.
Rogers seems to be running out of patience when he reaches Chapter 8, where he clubs Health, Education and Housing in a single "service sector" oriented chapter. The discussion highlights some interesting trends overall, but misses the relatively more detailed context provided in previous chapters. Nevertheless, an informative chapter, despite not mentioning any of the recent darlings in the stock market - EJ Holdings (real estate) and WuXi (WX - medical research outsourcer).
Chapter 9, the most important one in the book, provides his prognosis for the different sectors/themes with a view of "possibly plunking your money in them someday"! An excellent read and worth buying the book for this chapter alone.
The reader should also search some of the investment blogs such as Seeking Alpha to read recent interviews of Rogers regarding this book and his opinion on the current investment climate in China. The author cautions that one cannot predict whether a bubble is imminent or not, but suggests to keep monitoring the landscape for potential long term investments. That sanity is welcome!
The Appendix seems to be an after-thought and not particularly useful, and there is no list of citations for the more serious reader. Another book worth keeping in the radar is From Wall Street to the Great Wall: How Investors Can Profit from China's Booming Economy.
The writing style is very conversational and easy-flowing. The part travelogue aspect of the narration sustains the interest level of the reader throughout the discussions.
All in all, for the price of a few lattes, you can get first-hand information on the landscape of Chinese economy in a wide variety of sectors, and an excellent concluding chapter that could serve as a good framework for investing in China. A must read for any serious investor.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book will make you money, September 5, 2008
Anytime someone makes you a lot of money, you tend to become a fan. And so I am a fan of Jim Rogers. I believe this man makes a lot of sense when he talks economics. I learned this by reading his earlier books about driving around the world. He admits to being a lousy trader. But he is great at looking at the big picture and investing according.
He made me money with an earlier book, Hot Commodities, which I had for four years before I invested in commodities. If I had invested when I first read the book, I would be retired 2 or 3 times over. Even though commodities have taken a huge tumble lately the bull market is not over yet and they will make me more money.
But this book is about the money that can be made in China. If you watched the 2008 Olympics you saw a new China. The reports from China are amazing. The growth, the production, the consumption, and everything about China is not just super-sized, it's gigantic-sized. With three stock exchanges, close to double digit GDP growth every year, and the largest financial reserves, there is plenty of opportunity here.
I am writing this review to help you decide if you should buy this book or not. I hope this review helps. If you want to read more of my reviews of stock trading and investment book, you can get them at www.thetradingtipster.com.
Another reviewer has already painstakingly detailed the book chapter by chapter. My takeaway is that if you are looking for places to invest, then get this book. It explains why China is growing and why it will continue to grow. This book also breaks down all the sectors of the economy. Everything from travel to agriculture to the Chinese space program is discusses and dissected in easy to understand language. Dozens of companies are also listed with brief descriptions of each. The descriptions are good because you get a sense of what if happening in China, but for the average American investor most of these companies cannot be invested in.
But even if you only focus on Chinese companies listed on NYSE and NASDAQ or get into the Chinese Market ETF (FXI) you can still make a nice long term gain. The author stresses that investing in China is a long term process with ups and many downs along the way. He does not recommend any company in the book, he only mentions them to give the reader a broad understanding.
If you want to know what's going on in China and profit from it, from a man who knows how to make money, this book is a great place to start. It opened my eyes to China when I first read it and am patiently waiting for an opportunity to invest in the largest bull market of our lifetime. The author compares China to the Wild West of America. Lots of money to be made, but you have to be careful.
By looking at the trends in the US market and what is going on around the world, it makes sense to reason that investments for the next few decades will probably get a higher return in places like China than in the US. Even if you don't agree with me on this point, you will probably agree that diversifying by investing in China is not a bad idea. And if you believe that then this book will help.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not much substance here, July 5, 2008
I agree with Jim Rogers. China is way too important for investors to ignore. China is growing fast and they are here to stay and perhaps are on their way to become the next great world power. But I found Rogers' book very flimsy. If you are unfamiliar with the changes in China, there are many other better books that can help you to better understand the changes. If you already know about these changes, then this book adds hardly anything. Book is also poorly organized. One minute he can be talking about the different dynasties or the cultural revolution, the next minute he talks about the newest companies in different industries.
From an investor's perspective, it gives you some information about various companies and types of shares (ie: A shares, H shares, etc.). There is no depth though. There are lists of companies in various industries, but Rogers provides hardly any information. He also does not teach you how to find out more about these companies and regulations that might affect investors. For example there are no answers to important questions like: Does China have anything analogous to SEC, GAAP? Where can we get financial statements on companies listed in Shanghai stock exchange? What is executive compensation like? Etc.
If you are thinking about investing in China then it is important to understand their culture, politics and recent business environment and Rogers tries to provide readers with some basic material here, but the lack of depth or new insights make this book not worthwhile. Here are some other books that I recommend:
China Wakes (a little outdated but still very important)
China Road
Wild Swans
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