Putting the Spotlight on AKM in Mongolia, page-663

ill add to that - one of the major factors supporting AKM right now and making a go ahead on the rail more and more likely is the rise of Trump

Trump's aggression has given China a golden opportunity to exert influence by stealth - making 3rd party nations and decision makers more likely to get in bed with China

Chinese leaders know they need to lock down that opportunity and OBOR is a key way to advance its economic interests - locking in dominant control positions of key infrasturucture beyond China's borders and locking in new economic corridors and benefits that will support Chinese economy

so the decion markers on new rail arent just looking at the commercial returns from initial traffic flow on the rail 0 but at the strategic benefit of 'hard coding' a new key economic relationship with russia and also markets the draw from russia

so akm;s spent the better part of a decade fomenting and agitating a plan that all of a sudden - because of this conflation of other events - has an even greater attraction -- and in particular a short term driver that makes such massive capital investment more likely than less

thats what good tiny mkt cap mgt teams do - they see the strategic wave - position to catch it - and try to hold on until it crests

many dont make it. the long time when the 'swell' isnt visible - even if progresis is occuring below the waterline - means long long periods of stagnant sp and derision from relatively st focused investors - esp as it comes with dilution that makes buy and hold a dangerous idea

but when the strategic wave breaks - then the rise is phenonmenal if mgt has done their job well

AKM in my view have done as much as i could reaosnably expect in that fashion

but like i say - the decision on when the wave of economic and other factors to support their solution finally rears up isnt in their hands

so you have to look at those other macro forces to work out for yourself the probability that now will be that time

in my on view China will be absolutely hell bent on cementing OBOR linkages into Russia and other key economies to make sure they capture this appetite for growth as Trump pushes particularly Eastern societies into China's camp

his spectre of dictatorial style negotiation by force is blunting what previously was US key advantage of being a benign force vs China's autocratic culture.

now both are the devil's you have to deal with.