North Korea attempting to woo foreign investors for new 'business and tourism hub'

If you're an investor up for a risk, North Korea is looking to raise $150 million in outside money for 100 different projects in the eastern part of the country.

The government wants to open a $39 million brewery (with the goal of producing 50 million liters of beer annually), gas stations, restaurants, and a bus terminal and refurbish an old hotel in the Wonsan-Kumgang Development Zone. Michael Spavor, an independent consultant working with a committee to bring in funding, told Reuters that North Korea is "looking at this as a new East Asian business and tourism hub. It's a nice area, it's on the coast."

Despite having 20 special economic and development zones, the secretive and isolated country isn't home to many foreign entities. An Egyptian company runs North Korea's only mobile phone network, and even with 2.5 million subscribers, has been unable to withdraw its profits. "Most foreign investments in North Korea have ended badly, but most of those people had very superficial understanding of the place and did not have insider connections," Andrei Lankov, professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told Reuters. "Those who did, make very good money, but tend to remain very silent about their success because they don't want to attract attention — from any side."

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