Will Russia Complete Iran’s Rasht–Astara Railway?
May 19th, 2022
Via Jamestown Foundation, a report on Russia’s interest in Iran’s Rasht–Astara Railway: The Russo-Ukrainian war has had a direct impact on the status of the various China–Central Asia–Russia–Europe transit corridors that traverse Eurasia. The Northern Corridor branch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in particular, has faced serious challenges and limitations, forcing a halt […]
Read more »Central Asian Economies Don’t Need Russia
May 19th, 2022
Via East Asia Forum, an article on Central Asian economies: In 1991, the five Central Asian economies were republics of the Soviet Union, with trade and transport oriented towards Russia. Over three decades of independence, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have built railways, roads and pipelines to the east and south and […]
Read more »Chinese State Shipping Conglomerate Builds New Belt and Road Hub in Peru
May 17th, 2022
Via Nikkei Asia, a report on COSCO planting its flag in South America with $3bn Peruvian port: Major ports along the west coast of the Americas have been snarled for much of the last two years due to COVID and global shipping challenges such as the Ukraine war. Outside a sleepy South American fishing town, Chinese […]
Read more »Who Will Be Pakistan’s First Unicorn?
May 17th, 2022
Via Rest of World, a look at how Pakistani startups are having a dazzling run, and the country might get its first billion-dollar venture soon: The Pakistani tech startup industry witnessed many highs in the last couple of years — record-breaking funding rounds, debuts by marquee global investors, and the emergence of founder “mafias,” among others. If all goes […]
Read more »US, China Vie for Africa’s Mobile Phone Sector
May 16th, 2022
Via Voice of America, an article on the competition between the U.S. and China for influence over Africa’s telecommunications industry: Africa, in recent years, has become the new frontier where China and the United States, the world’s two biggest economic superpowers, are competing for influence in a key industry: telecommunications. This week, Ethiopia celebrated the […]
Read more »CNOOC Starts Drilling In Brazilian Waters
May 16th, 2022
Via Week in China, an article on CNOOC’s drilling activity in Brazilian waters: Saudi Aramco is jostling with Apple once again for the title of the world’s most valuable company, helped by oil prices that have soared 60% since last year on higher demand and the spillover effect of the disruption in energy markets caused […]
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.