Pyongyang Glitters, But Rest of North Korea Still Dark
April 28th, 2013
Via Time magazine, an interesting look at North Korea: The heart of this city, once famous for its Dickensian darkness, now pulsates with neon. Glossy construction downtown has altered the Pyongyang skyline. Inside supermarkets where shopgirls wear French designer labels, people with money can buy Italian wine, Swiss chocolates, kiwifruit imported from New Zealand and […]
Read more »Silicon Kush
April 25th, 2013
Via Inc., an interesting article on how bill-payment kiosks are transforming consumers’ economic lives in Central Asia: On our first morning in Dushanbe, the Tajik police stop our car. We had been driving less than three minutes before hearing the siren squawk. Behind us, a police officer emerges from his compact Soviet-era Lada wearing a […]
Read more »Meteoric Mongolia
April 24th, 2013
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs, a look at Mongolia’s mining industry and overall economy: Mongolia is mining’s last frontier. The country is one of a small handful of places left in the world with major untouched mineral deposits. Its best — and perhaps its only — hope for broad-based economic development lies in recruiting foreign miners […]
Read more »Africa’s Economic Boom
April 24th, 2013
Via Foreign Affairs (subscription required), a very interesting analysis of Africa’s economic growth and trajectory: Talk to experts, academics, or businesspeople about the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and you are likely to hear one of two narratives. The first is optimistic: Africa’s moment is just around the corner, or has already arrived. Reasons for hope […]
Read more »Connectivity In Asia: Reviving The Old Silk Road?
April 24th, 2013
Via The Eurasia Review, an interesting article on the potential revival of the Silk Road: Silk Road extending from Europe through Egypt, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Java-Indonesia, and Vietnam until it reaches China. The land routes are red, and the water routes are blue. THE SILK Road refers […]
Read more »Growth From The Ground Up In Iskandar
April 24th, 2013
Via Mark Mobius’ blog, a look at Iskandar, Malaysia: Our emerging markets team isn’t too keen on following crowds. Part and parcel of Templeton’s contrarian approach is traveling to places others aren’t, and thinking about the long-term potential in specific industries and companies that may not be on others’ radar screens. One place we’ve had […]
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.