Earlier a book The Silk Road examined the trading patterns of the “road” from China to Europe in Macro Polo’s time. A thousand years later, in the year 2000 it is vastly different. China is spending $900 billion dollars on roads from the Baltic Sea in Russia to the Yellow Sea in China; it is also spending billions on rail transportation both high speed for passengers (cutting a 40 hour trip to 8 hours) and more importantly rail to move goods from the factories to consumers around the world. When most of us think about China, we think of the big coastal cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong and the surrounding countryside. In the world of electronics and the biggest hydro dam in the world look to this city of 8 million in the middle of China.

China is big country and decided Chongqing is the place for electronics and after making the Acer computers – they need to be shipped out. At first they took the trip on the Yangtze River but that is too slow. Then railways to send the goods to the Shanghai area, but afterwards the ships must go around South Asia which takes a month. Now days railways have been built, the goods can go to Duisburg Germany in two weeks, however it costs twice as much as by ship. Part of the problem is the railways in Kazakhstan are a smaller gauge than China. This is good news for Khorgos – this dry port has great railway cranes one typically sees at ocean ports. An You Tube video on the Silk Road will show some of the engineering feats and the potential outcomes from building the road.

Another solution which China is working on is a road and rail corridor towards Gwadar Port in Pakistan from Xinjiang, China. This will shorten the shipping time. It also changes the geopolitical world.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, infrastructure can change cities and companies opening new sales territories and opportunities. While the geo-political concerns are for others, the road offers opportunities to be taken advantage of.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.