Laos Is Not in a Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ – But It Is in Trouble
April 27th, 2023
Via The Diplomat, a report on Laos, which is disturbingly reliant on investment from China – and no one knows how much, or under what terms: China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) turns 10 this year. Much ink has been spilled, digitally and otherwise, about the global infrastructure project. The “debt-trap diplomacy” claims that arose […]
Read more »Forget U.S. Ban — TikTok is Thriving In Its Second-Biggest Market: Indonesia
April 26th, 2023
Courtesy of Rest of World, an article on how TikTok Shop, the controversial app’s ambitious next phase, has caught fire in Indonesia: In the U.S., TikTok’s ambitions to level up into a shopping empire have stumbled on the possibility of a countrywide ban, and a miscalculation of shopping behaviors. But over in Indonesia, the app’s […]
Read more »How Partnering With Jordan Can Help Revitalize The U.S. Semiconductor Industry
April 26th, 2023
Via Forbes, commentary on how partnering with Jordan can help revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry: Texas is the leading exporter of semiconductors in the U.S. and is in the best position to revitalize domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research, and design. But we can’t do it alone, and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 acknowledges that. […]
Read more »Sudan: A Market Overview in the Face of Conflict
April 25th, 2023
Via GlobalEDGE, a look at Sudan as conflict rages: The two leading generals of the third largest country in Africa have clashed over the country’s vast economic and political power. So, what is happening on the global economic stage in the face of this conflict? Sudan is in a potential “breadbasket” for the region of […]
Read more »Opening A Trans-Caspian Corridor
April 25th, 2023
Via Geopolitical Futures, an article on the potential opening of a trans-Caspian corridor: A trans-Caspian energy and trade corridor has long captured the interest of many nations that would benefit from its creation, and the war in Ukraine has made things only more urgent. The reasons it has never come to fruition are fairly obvious; […]
Read more »South America Looks At Creating “Lithium OPEC”
April 25th, 2023
Via Mining.com, a look at ongoing discussions over the creation of a lithium OPEC: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil are analyzing the creation of a lithium cartel of sorts in charge of expanding South America’s processing capacity, turning more of their mined lithium into batteries and tapping into the electric vehicles (EVs) manufacturing sector: The […]
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.