The Volatilian 3.93

Why we are here

There is a deluge – actually a swamp – of research that seeks to entice foreign investors into potentially rich markets. Some comes from the financial institutions eager to bolster their portfolios and thereby their presence in those emerging and frontier ‘promising lands’. Some comes from the boards of investment and associated agencies of national governments.

What all this research has in common, though, is a desire to soft-sell these markets. In short, what is produced – to varying degrees – is a glossed-over version of the realities on the ground. In other words, information with regard to how things actually operate locally – not simply the economic realities of which there are oceans of study, but the social, religious, political and judicial underpinnings which determine whether these markets stand on rock or sand – is too often found wanting. And it is the investor who ultimately pays the price.

For precisely this reason we are launching The Volatilian™, a tracking system with a daily review that is not beholden to any government or any financial institution. Our purpose is to paint the investment landscape as it is. No varnish; no sprig of parsley. The potential for reward will be clearly stated and the risks of achieving such reward will be made very clear.

What overseas investors need to know is whether they can make a reasonable return on their money. That’s not rocket science, it’s simply evaluating the pro and con factors of a deal – something they do every day. And with objective and impartial intelligence that process will be made easier and no longer susceptible to the predilections of financial institutions and the machinations of governments. Risk, of course, is the ubiquitous fly in the ointment. The job of The Volatilian™ is to explain the size of the fly and where it is in the ointment.

Our immediate scope are the markets which comprise the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Our flagship product is The Volatilian™ Conference which will provide an interface between overseas investors and the governments that seek to attract their funds. In the run-up to each conference, this website will be given over to news coverage and analysis of the sectors relevant to the subject country of the upcoming conference. The first of these gatherings will be launched in December in the Philippines. News and regular updates of this event will be carried on this website. In tandem with the each conference we will issue The Volatilian™ Journal which will carry coverage and background of the market, the sectors and the issues relating to that conference.

The purpose of these forums is to stage full and frank discussions on the risks which investors face and the real concerns which they have. In other words, government PR will be checked at the door along with the rose-tinted spectacles of the investment banks. It is in everyone’s interest to get honest and seek solutions. And, at the end of the day, if the investors cannot be reassured, then the conference will have delivered its answer.

Stay with us.