$600 million: The price of building certain assets has increased significantly in some industries in recent years, leading firms to consider ideas like alternative asset ownership in order to reduce capital outlays and investment risks. For instance, according to research from Epeus Consulting, the cost of building a new oil rig has gone up steadily over the last few decades, despite advances in technology. A new rig today costs more than $600m due to steeper regulations and increasing prices for raw materials and labour.

(Source: Harvard Business Review)

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, April 25th, 2016