Suez Closure Brightens the Future of China’s New Silk Road
June 12th, 2021
Via Jamestown Foundation, a look at how the recent Suez closure brightened the future of China’s New Silk Road: On March 23, the 240,000-ton, 1,312 feet long (399 meters) Panama-flagged MV container ship Ever Given, drawing 47 ft 7 in (14.5 meters) and carrying 20,000 containers from China’s Yantian International Container Terminal in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province […]
Read more »North Korea Has Asia’s Hottest Currency
June 12th, 2021
Via Asia Times, a report on how – if Chinese border traders reflect market reality – the won is up 33% against the yuan and 18% to the buck in three short weeks: Something weird recently happened to what had been one of the world’s least coveted currencies. If you were North Korean and wanted […]
Read more »In Rural Vietnam, Facebook Finds A New Approach To Growth
June 9th, 2021
Via Nikkei Asia, a report on Facebook’s bet on chat-based e-commerce and online video in Vietnam and beyond: Facebook is taking lessons from rural Vietnam as part of its advertising business becomes more difficult and online merchants embrace video and chat to connect with customers. Vietnam’s increasingly prosperous rural population is adapting quickly to smartphone use […]
Read more »Solar Investors Bet On DRC
June 8th, 2021
Via African Business, a report on two major solar energy projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Two major solar energy projects have been announced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the space of a week as investors target one of Africa’s least electrified markets. A consortium led by Gridworks, a UK government-backed developer and […]
Read more »Kabul New City: Afghanistan’s Forgotten Development Dream
June 8th, 2021
Via The Diplomat, a look at a planned Afghanistan mega-project that was put on hold under the previous government and, which if not kickstarted soon, Kabul city could be left uninhabitable: Kabul New City (KNC) was intended to be home for 3 million by 2040, one and a half times larger than the existing Afghan capital. […]
Read more »Cuba Legalizes Private Businesses, With Key Caveats
June 7th, 2021
Via STRATFOR (subscription required), a report on Cuba’s recent privatization initiatives: Cuba’s decision to allow private sector involvement in additional areas of the economy represents a modest move toward free-market policies that will allow some domestic companies to scale up operations and attract moderate levels of foreign investment, even as crucial sectors of the economy […]
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.