Limited Links Sink Myanmar’s Potential
July 25th, 2017
Via Asia Times, a look at whether Myanmar – long viewed as Southeast Asia’s ‘connectivity’ laggard – is poised to allow more foreign-built ports, roads and rails: Despite its 2,000 kilometer-long coastline, reaching from Bangladesh to the west and Thailand to the east, Myanmar is home to only nine functioning ports, with the one in […]
Read more »Trump Finds Reason for the U.S. to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals
July 25th, 2017
Courtesy of the New York Times, an article on the Trump administration’s interest in Afghan minerals: President Trump, searching for a reason to keep the United States in Afghanistan after 16 years of war, has latched on to a prospect that tantalized previous administrations: Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth, which his advisers and Afghan officials have […]
Read more »Russia Agrees Significant Silk Road Projects With China
July 23rd, 2017
Courtesy of Russia Briefing, a report on a number of agreements signed by Russia and China related to OBOR activities: As predicted, a significant array of economic cooperation agreements were signed between Russia and China during President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow. The deals include the creation of the new US$10 billion China-Russia RMB Investment Cooperation Fund, which provides access […]
Read more »Kazakhstan Bets Big On China’s Silk Road
July 23rd, 2017
Via Forbes, an article on Kazakhstan’s focus on China’s OBOR initiative: The jury is still out about China’s One Belt One Road development project. But Kazakhstan isn’t too worried. If there is one country in Eurasia, if not the world, that is more gung-ho about the new Silk Road to Europe, it’s these guys. Should the government play […]
Read more »North Korea’s Economy Is Growing at Its Fastest Pace Since 1999
July 21st, 2017
Via Bloomberg, a report on North Korea’s economic growth: North Korea’s economy grew in 2016 at the fastest pace since 1999, helped by a recovery from a drought in 2015. Military spending, including on testing nuclear weapons and missiles, also boosted growth, and raised tensions in the region. Gross domestic product expanded 3.9 percent from […]
Read more »Japanese Infrastructure Deal with Bangladesh May Disrupt “Belt and Road” Initiative
July 19th, 2017
Courtesy of Future Directions International, commentary on the potential impact of a recent Japanese investment in Bangladesh on China’s OBOR vision: On 29 June, the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh signed a loan agreement to provide official development assistance (ODA) loans of up to 178.225 billion yen (approximately […]
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.