Mao, Marx & the Market: Capitalist Adventures in Russia and China Hardcover - 2001 - 1st Edition

From the jacket flap

Mao, Marx & the Market is a unique firsthand account of the precepts, pitfalls, and profits associated with investing in Russia and China as they leap perilously toward a free market economy. In a down-to-earth and engaging style, investment legend Dean LeBaron chronicles his experiences as one of the early institutional investors in Russia and China.

LeBaron's ventures into two of the largest potential markets in the world-through his company Batterymarch Financial Management-combine practical business advice with important political and cultural lessons. Step by step, you'll follow LeBaron in his quest to privatize and modernize state-owned industrial plants in Russia and China. From analyzing companies in these markets to understanding the policies, practices, and attitudes of their governments, you'll learn how to conduct business in Russia and China-while using these examples as benchmarks for emerging markets around the world.

This practical guide details LeBaron's struggle to create the Soviet Companies Fund in the early nineties when Gorbachev and glasnost ruled. It takes a painful look at what went wrong as the political environment changed and the Russian side reneged on its promises. LeBaron offers candid advice and encouraging warnings as to what to look for in Russia as economic obstacles fall by the wayside and the government becomes comfortable with Western investors.

Turning to China, LeBaron proves-with Batterymarch's Equity Fund of China-that investing in emerging markets can be just as profitable as it is risky. Explaining that "post-Mao China took small calculated risks that added up to nothing less than a genuine revolution," LeBaron provides an intriguing and successful case study for investing in China and other similar emerging markets.

Mao, Marx & the Market prepares you to invest in Russia, China, and beyond, by revealing the "variables" that can play into these markets. It also provides you with a foundation for investing in other emerging markets. You'll learn how to find and invest in emerging markets by studying a country and its economy, then setting specific criteria for each.

The economic futures of Russia and China may not be clear, but the firsthand advice in this book is. Take the knowledge and experience of Dean LeBaron and get a head start in locating and successfully investing in emerging markets. The greatest risk you can take when dealing with emerging markets is not reading Mao, Marx & the Market first.