Origo said the fund will provide investors with exposure to the exceptionally fast growth of the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE), and also the high interest savings deposit rates on offer from Mongolian commercial banks which are currently available at around 15%. In addition, Origo said the fund will provide 100% exposure to the Mongolian Tugrik which grew 13% last year making it the second best performing currency against the dollar in 2010.
In support of the launch, Origo points to the fact that Mongolia has the fastest growing economy anywhere in the world, having grown 14.1% in the first half of this year alone. In further support of the fund’s launch, Origo highlights the astounding growth on its stock exchange last year – the MSE chalked up an increase of 174% during 2010.
Much of this performance has been driven by the development of the country’s vast and largely untapped reserves of bulk commodities and base metals comprising coal, iron ore, copper, gold and uranium, said Origo. The company added that it is expected that the MSE will move to electronic trading for international investors later this year resulting in further increased capital flows into the country.
The fund will be managed by Origo Asset Management, a subsidiary of Origo Partners, with day to day activities carried out by Luke Leslie, head of Mongolia and mining investments at Origo, and Eric Zurrin, CEO of ResCap, who both have a successful track record in investing in and advising Mongolian companies.
Administered by Apex Funds, the fund will be open ended, have a minimum subscription threshold of $10,000 and is expected to begin trading in October 2011.
