India-Chabahar-Afghanistan TIR Corridor Launched
March 15th, 2020
Via The Financial Tribune, a report on the launch of the Chabahar corridor: Two loaded containers were transported successfully from India’s Mumbai to Iran’s Chabahar, which exited through Dogharoun Border crossing to Afghanistan under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) on Friday. According to Mostafa Ayati, an official with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs […]
Read more »The Hidden Dangers of China’s Digital Silk Road
March 13th, 2020
Via The National Interest, an article on signs that China’s ambitions with the Belt and Road Initiative—and all its digital components—are part of the sticky power of a new hegemony: China switched on the largest commercial 5G network to date on October 31, 2019. That’s when China’s three state-owned wireless carriers, China Mobile, China Unicorn, and […]
Read more »The Greater Caspian Region: A New Silk Road, With or Without A New Belt
March 7th, 2020
Via The Atlantic Council, an interesting look at Central Asia and the new Silk Road: With the signing of a US-Taliban peace agreement, now might be a good time to look ahead to how Afghanistan might strengthen its economic connectivity with both its neighbors and more distant markets. Now, there will be a 135-day period of […]
Read more »Unbuckled Belt: China’s New Silk Road Continues To Struggle
March 2nd, 2020
Via Forbes, a look at some bump roads along China’s BRI in Central Asia: Last year, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kyrgyzstan for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, a new $275 million free-trade zone on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border was born. Led by the Chinese firm One Lead One (HK) Trading Limited and a […]
Read more »Egypt Seeking Investors For Military-Run Companies
February 28th, 2020
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on Egypt’s efforts to seek investors for military-run companies: Egypt wants to attract investors into backing companies owned by the country’s army to address private sector complaints that they are being crowded out of lucrative sectors by the military. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is assessing 10 companies […]
Read more »Indonesia’s Burgeoning Railway Diplomacy
February 28th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on the Indonesia Railway Development Consortium: As in other Southeast Asian coutries, the Indonesian rail sector is a colonial legacy established with some dependence on external technologies. However, Indonesia has moved on to an independent approach, with the intent of developing its indigenous rail industry. To be fair, other regional […]
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.