Frontier Markets: E(Merging) into the Mainstream?
December 15th, 2007
As reported in The Wall Street Journal, “frontier markets” are up nearly 100% or more in dollar terms, according to a Standard & Poor’s index. As the article notes, such markets – despite their small size and often poor infrastructure – are attracting increasing attention: “…Nigeria, has even outpaced China during the past 12 months, […]
Read more »Pyongyang’s Building Boom
December 14th, 2007
A fascinating report in The Economist, which notes that some North Korean residents are becoming investors in the property market—despite the government’s theoretical monopoly on the allocation of housing. As we have discussed in this blog previously, North Korea initiated economic reforms in 2002. Most wage and price controls were dropped and the market was […]
Read more »Adios Bloqueo? Hola Opportunity…
December 14th, 2007
Via The Economist, an interesting look at Cuba’s future investment prospects, particularly Dubai Ports World’s plans to invest $250m in converting the decrepit port in Mariel, just west of Havana, into a modern container facility. As the article notes: “…The choice of Mariel, one of the closest points in Cuba to the United States, is […]
Read more »Pipelines: Carrying Oil and A New Balance of Power from Kazakhstan Towards China
December 11th, 2007
Via Stratfor (subscription required), an excellent analysis of how the balance of power between China, Russia and the United States will change now that ground has been broken on the final portion of a pipeline linking the massive energy reserves of the Caspian Sea directly to China (namely the pipeline connecting the Kazakh cities of […]
Read more »North Korea: “An Opportunity Like None Other”
December 11th, 2007
From The Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal, an interesting review of Lafarge’s recent acquisition of the Egyptian cement company Orascom (covered in this blog earlier) which emphasizes that the purchase also involved an entree for the French company into North Korea. As the article notes, North Korea may – eventually – offer an opportunity like […]
Read more »A Gazprom State?
December 11th, 2007
As always, highly interesting analysis from Steve Levine at Oil & Glory, this time on Russia’s use of Gazprom as one of its spear points of foreign policy. As the article notes: “…Through its control of natural gas pipelines , Gazprom is the instrument of Russian influence in its former colonies in Central Asia, the […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.