Dateline: Singapore As a contrarian entrepreneur and investor, I like to zig where others zag. Especially in lower-end businesses, many just follow the herd mentality and don't...
Know your market: don’t make this international business mistake
Dateline: Jakarta, Indonesia I've spent a lot of time in Jakarta's upscale shopping malls the last week I've been here. While I do enjoy a good mall, it's not that I've been...
Living in Indonesia: Jakarta’s cheap cost of living
Dateline: Jakarta, Indonesia I have friends who, despite my commandment to never live or do business there, still live in Southern California. I lived there myself for seven...
Chinese Flying Money: don’t make this funny money mistake
Dateline: Jakarta, Indonesia The cafe scene here in Jakarta is quite something. Like many cities in Asia, some of the best casual and upscale dining is done in shopping malls. As...
The Best Offshore Havens for Bank Secrecy
Last updated November 14, 2020 Bank secrecy has long been a target of international groups opposed to offshore tax havens. The argument goes that if governments don’t know who...
Nomad guide to living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: a hidden gem for the Asia expat
Last update: September 15, 2017 Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia As a kid, I was in awe of skyscrapers. Even at four years old, I would count the windows from the ground level to...
The five most livable cities in frontier markets
Frontier markets offer some of the best opportunities for adventurous, enterprising global entrepreneurs and investors today. Frontier market investor Chris Tell told me that...
Are high interest rates on emerging market currencies worth it?
Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Jim Rickards recently said that with the central bankers' madness infecting the Australian dollar, there were only three strong, stable...
Buying Foreign Real Estate to Get Airbnb Rent Yields
Reporting from: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia A few months ago, I met with several expat entrepreneurs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Among all of the business talk, they threw out one...
Are Diplomatic Passports a Legitimate Second Citizenship?
Last updated February 10, 2021 Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia is a melting pot of people from around the world – Malay, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and more....
The five best languages to learn for business in a changing world
The world is changing, and the days of speaking one language are over. As I travel the world, I frequently spend time in places where locals speak English perfectly... as well as...
How a second passport helps your privacy rights
Reporting from: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Privacy rights seem to be a lost art these days. In their quest to totally make you their slave, desperate governments are working to...
Potential risks of doing business in a frontier market like Laos
Reporting from: Vang Vieng, Laos I don’t really fit in here in Vang Vieng. But I have a bit more business to conduct in Laos’ capital city of Vientiane - about three hours away...
How to own a market as a frontier market entrepreneur
Reporting from: Vientiane, Laos For a moment today, I thought I was in New York City. I was on my way to meet a contact I made in the Laos real estate industry, and I didn’t know...
Investing in Laos: the last of Asia’s true frontier markets?
Dateline: Vientiane, Laos It took Thai Airways one simple error to screw up my one-hour flight yesterday. Nevertheless, I arrived in Udon Thani, Thailand - just a short hop from...
The three most important words in Thailand
Reporting from: Udon Thani, Thailand I've been stuck in airport limbo for most of the day, so please excuse the brevity of this post. After a month on the ground in Thailand, I'm...
Why is the United States called America?
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand To be honest, I didn't even realize today was Columbus Day. I guess any excuse for lazy government workers to take a paid day off and celebrate...
How Hard Is It to Open a Singapore Bank Account Now?
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand Remember when you were a little kid and you'd go to your friends' birthday party to eat cake and play party games? Even at seven years old, I...
The US government shutdown shows just how unfree “America” is
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand I have to say, I'm a little embarrassed. No, not for "my" country and all of the crazy things they're doing to innocent people during the...
Is the Cambodia second passport a scam?
Dateline: Siem Reap, Cambodia In Khmer, Siem Reap literally means "Siam defeated". It's an old tribute to the great expansion of the Khmer Empire, which covered most of...