Is China a Colonial Power?
May 9th, 2018
Via The New York Times, commentary on China’s BRI and new Silk Road: In a lesser-known novel, “Claudius Bombarnac,” Jules Verne describes the adventures of the titular foreign correspondent as he rides the “Grand Transasiatic Railway” from the “European frontier” to “the capital of the Celestial Empire.” A cast of international characters, by turns comical, […]
Read more »Iran’s Connectivity Strategy
May 9th, 2018
Via Ozy, a report on Iran’s efforts to woo friends and foes with the eastern port city of Chabahar: My interpreter is matter-of-fact as I board the Iran Air flight from Tehran to the eastern port city of Chabahar. “We know when the flight takes off, but we have no clue how it will come […]
Read more »PDVSA Is Collapsing
May 5th, 2018
Via The Financial Tribune, an article on the dire condition of Venezuela’s PDVSA: The man who ran Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA for a decade after 2004 says the country’s oil firm is on the cusp of total collapse and expects oil production to drop by 600,000 barrels per day each year amid lack of […]
Read more »Mongolia: From Bust To Boom
May 3rd, 2018
Via Bloomberg, a report on Mongolia: A year after receiving a package of financial aid led by the International Monetary Fund, Mongolia’s mineral-rich economy is making a comeback. But for a nation that swings between boom and bust, the question investors are asking is: how long can it last? Higher commodity prices and resurgent Chinese demand […]
Read more »Kazakhstan Accounts For Over 70% Of All Investments In Central Asia
May 2nd, 2018
Via The Times of Central Asia, an article on Kazakhstan: To achieve the goal of becoming one of the world’s 30 most developed countries, favorable conditions for attracting investments have been created in Kazakhstan, Minister for Investments and Development, Zhenis Kassymbek, said at the forum “France-Kazakhstan: 10 years of strategic partnership” held last week in […]
Read more »The Challenge for Ethiopia: Unleash the Economy
May 2nd, 2018
Via Bloomberg, a report on Ethiopia’s economic challenge: Ethiopia’s new leader faces a critical decision on whether to open up parts of the Horn of Africa nation’s booming economy after making moves to reduce the stake of the military, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said. Premier Abiy Ahmed inherited what the International Monetary Fund ranks as Africa’s […]
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.