Syria’s Narco Economy
August 8th, 2021
Via The Economist, a report on Syria’s economic descent into a narco state: In the dunes north of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, the sun sets and the party begins. Girls discard their abayas, the black shrouds that envelop them in public, and begin jiving to techno music with boys. A few swig from bottles, but most […]
Read more »Kim Jong Un Rediscovers His Love Of Central Planning
August 8th, 2021
Courtesy of The Economist, a report on North Korea’s efforts to crack down on its small market economy: The North Korean dictator’s love of high-end products from evil capitalist countries is well documented. The import of luxury goods into North Korea has been banned by un sanctions since 2006. Yet Kim Jong Un parades around Pyongyang in […]
Read more »SPACs Target Emerging Markets as U.S. Competition Mounts
August 7th, 2021
Via The Wall Street Journal, an article on how the number of blank-check companies focused on developing countries has almost tripled in 2021 as investors look for better value overseas: Blank-check companies are venturing to far-flung locales such as Brazil, Israel and Turkey to find attractive merger targets these days. Special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, explicitly […]
Read more »Can Turkmenistan Become A Serious Gas Player In Europe?
August 2nd, 2021
Via Oil Price.com, commentary on Turkmenistan’s potential to become a serious gas player in Europe: The Caspian Sea is one of the world’s largest and oldest oil and gas producing regions. During the Cold War, the hydrocarbon-rich area was Soviet-controlled as the vast majority of the reserves were located in the Soviet Union. Since the breakup […]
Read more »Can China’s Belt and Road Open Up Landlocked Laos?
August 2nd, 2021
Via Geopolitical Monitor, an article on China’s investments in Laos: Around mid-August, the final tracks will be laid on a 420 km high-speed railway in Laos, enabling the first trains to be tested on the Chinese-built line. Work on the project began in 2016, seeking to link the southern Chinese city of Kunming with Laotian capital Vientiane, […]
Read more »Lukoil Retracts Decision to Sell Stake in Iraq’s Field
August 1st, 2021
Via Bloomberg, an article on Lukoil’s recent decision not to sell its stake in West Qurna-2 field in the south to Chinese companies: Russia’s Lukoil PJSC is retracting its decision to sell its stake in West Qurna-2 field in the south to Chinese companies, according to Iraqi state-run newspaper Al-Sabah. Iraq’s oil ministry has been in talks […]
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.