Via Quartz, an interesting article on frontier markets: Despite being incredibly young, South Sudan’s position in a planned oil pipeline makes it a promising investment. As Jim O’Neill steps down as head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the world may be looking for a new acronym to succeed his infamous coinage of BRICS, which stands […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Harvard Business Review, an interesting commentary on Africa’s middle class: If you have considered investing in Africa, you have no doubt been influenced by frequent recent reports on the continent’s apparently large, burgeoning middle class. These rising Africans are said to be increasingly armed with the hard currency, and the taste, to […]
Read more »Courtesy of Foreign Policy, some analysis of China’s role in Afghanistan post-2014: Hamid Karzai’s derailment of this week’s planned U.S. peace talks with the Taliban may have been a disappointment to Washington’s hopes of ending its longest war — but it disappointed Beijing, too. China welcomed the breakthrough in the Qatar process, and sees a […]
Read more »Via The European Financial Review, an in-depth look at China’s interest in Central Asian petroleum reserves: China now accounts for almost 20 percent of the world’s energy consumption and its demand is still growing at high speed. In order to keep up with the expanding industry China turns to Central Asia with ambitious gas line […]
Read more »Via the BBC, an interesting article on North Korea’s economy: Amid the current tensions between North and South Korea, much focus has been on their shared industrial zone, where economic output has ground to a halt. The furlough is said to have cost the cash-strapped North some $90m (£58m) in wages, and the South’s businesses […]
Read more »Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), analysis of a recent pipeline attack in South Sudan: The oil pipeline facility in Heglig, South Kordofan state, Sudan. Summary Sudanese army officials said June 13 that rebel groups operating in the contested Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan attacked a pipeline June 12 and caused an explosion. Khartoum claims […]
Read more »