Archive for October, 2011

Standish: Emerging Markets Should Be Called ‘ASTERISCS’

Courtesy of Seeking Alpha, a synopsis of a very interesting report that reminds investors to evaluate each developing country individually, rather than simply focusing on N-11, BRICs, CIVETS, “emerging markets”, “frontier markets” and other monikers.  As the article notes: “…The term “emerging markets” has lost its meaning over the years due to many reasons. Some […]

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China Seeks Profit, Shuns Politics, In Afghanistan

Via Reuters, a report on China’s focus on Afghan natural resources: The Chinese passengers boarding the weekly Ariana Flight 332 from the remote western city of Urumqi to Kabul speak volumes about ties between a rising China, the world’s number two economy, and its desperately poor and unstable neighbour, Afghanistan. Of at least nine Chinese, […]

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Gazprom’s Recent Gas Pains

Via Robert Amsterdam, an interesting article on Gazprom’s travails as of late: Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has had a rather hard time of it recently, with a series of raids on their European offices.  The company cannot have been too happy with Turkey’s decision, announced on Monday, that it would not be renewing a 25-year […]

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Economic Outlook: Asia Pacific (October 2011)

Via Emerging Markets Insights, an updated look at economic growth in Southeast Asia: Most Asian countries continue to exhibit strong growth despite the recent turmoil in global markets. However, if there is a full-blown recession in the developed world, some markets will weather the storm better than others. In particular, domestically-oriented countries like India and […]

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The Not-So-Great Game: Afghanistan and China

Via Foreign Policy, a very interesting article on the Pentagon’s recent handling of Afghanistan’s natural resources.  As the article notes: In about a week, the Afghan Ministry of Mines will announce that the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) — the largest state-owned Chinese company — has won the rights to develop and explore several oil […]

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Dragon On The Savannah: China’s Closer Ties With South Africa

Via The Financial Times, an interesting article on another raft of multi-billion dollar commercial deals between China and an African country.  As the article notes: “…According to Reuters, China has agreed to $2.5bn in investment projects with South Africa. While details of the investments are sketchy, the move is the latest illustration of China’s ambitions in the continent. […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

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.