Africa: A Continent Goes Shopping
August 16th, 2012
Via The Economist, a look at the growing buying power of Africa’s middle class: AFRICAN consumers are underserved and overcharged, reckons Frank Braeken, Unilever’s boss in Africa. Until recently, South Africans who craved shampoo made specially for African hair, or cosmetics for black skin, had little choice besides costly American imports. Unilever spotted an opportunity: […]
Read more »China Brokers Tentative Oil Agreement Between The Sudans
August 15th, 2012
Via Foreign Policy, an interesting look at China’s role in brokering a tentative oil agreement between the Sudans: China — a growing diplomatic powerhouse in Africa — played a vital role in securing a preliminary agreement on transit fees for hundred of thousands of barrels of oil being piped from South Sudan’s oil fields through […]
Read more »Turkmenistan: Rethinking Regional Relations
August 13th, 2012
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a look at Turkmenistan’s efforts to reposition itself between Russia and China, economically and strategically: Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov gave a speech Aug. 6 in which he announced that the country’s gross domestic product of this year’s January-July period grew by 11 percent compared to the same period in 2011. […]
Read more »Turkey-Turkmen Energy Cooperation
August 13th, 2012
Via Energy Daily, a report on the growing energy ties between Turkey and Turkmenistan Energy-rich Turkmenistan and energy importer Turkey are deepening bilateral ties. Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhammedov is making a two-day state visit to Turkey, visiting Istanbul and Izmir. Turkey’s energy imports of Turkmen natural gas reportedly remain Ankara’s biggest immediate concern, but Turkey […]
Read more »Chinese Investment In Africa
August 13th, 2012
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a very interesting look at China’s investments in Africa:
Read more »Russian Evolution – Reshaping Putin’s Oil Industry
August 13th, 2012
Via The Financial Times, an examination of Russia’s oil industry and its latest evolution under Putin: Russia’s oil industry has been through two great evolutions since the collapse of communism. Now it is entering its third. First, in the 1990s, former state-owned oil assets were parcelled into vertically-integrated groups and sold off at bargain prices […]
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.