China Diversifies in Central Asia
November 30th, 2020
Via Eurasianet.com, a look at how Beijing has adopted a new economic model for Central Asia, investing less in major infrastructure and spreading its risk: Roads, pipelines, coal-fired power plants: not so much anymore. Beijing has changed course. It now rarely funds major infrastructure projects in Central Asia. Instead the People’s Republic has shifted to manufacturing: […]
Read more »Angola: The OPEC Producer Looking To Sell A Stake In Its Oil Company
November 29th, 2020
Via OilPrice.com, a report on Angola’s Sonangol: OPEC producer Angola plans to raise much-needed cash via selling a stake in its state oil firm Sonangol by early 2022 as the crash in oil prices—and the pandemic—severely weakened the country’s finances. Angola is considering selling part of Sonangol, as well as a stake in the national […]
Read more »Turkey’s Plans To Become ‘A Logistical Superpower’
November 14th, 2020
Via Window on Eurasia, a look at Turkey plans to become ‘a Logistical Superpower’: Adil Karaismailoglu, Turkey’s minister for transportation and infrastructure, says that Ankara “plans to extend a railroad toward Nakhchivan” something that will require major infrastructure investment within Turkey but could ultimately connect that country to Azerbaijan if railways are repaired and built in […]
Read more »Rail Freight Use on China’s Iron Silk Road Underdelivers
November 13th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on disappointing rail freight use on China’s Iron Silk Road: Containerized rail freight transport under China Rail Express (CR Express) between Europe and China is one of the flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However these rail links have been in development since 2011, predating the BRI. […]
Read more »For Future Prosperity, Afghanistan Must Look North
November 9th, 2020
Via Arab News, commentary on Afghanistan’s economic future via linkages to the north: When the international community talks about a “regional solution” for Afghanistan, mostly it is referring to the situation in Pakistan. Sometimes the regional solution is expanded to include India and China. Until recently, it was rare for the Central Asian republics to […]
Read more »Laos: Setting Its Own Debt Trap
November 6th, 2020
Via East Asia Forum, commentary on Laos’ debt trap: On 23 September the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Laos’ credit rating to CCC — the second downgrade in 2020, having dropped to B- in May. Much of the blame lies with COVID-19, which has seen Laos’ economic growth drop from 5.5 per cent in 2019 to a projected 0.5 per cent […]
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.