China Unveils ‘Grandiose Plan’ for Central Asia
April 18th, 2023
Via the Jamestown Foundation, a look at China’s forthcoming ‘Grandiose Plan’ for Central Asia: In the three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and China have pursued divergent interests in post-Soviet Central Asia, as Moscow seeks to retain its influence even as Beijing’s “soft power” grows, underpinned by its dynamic […]
Read more »Iran Discovers World’s Second Largest Lithium Reserve
April 17th, 2023
Via The Cradle, commentary on a recent discovery of lithium in Iran: The Islamic Republic of Iran discovered one of the world’s largest lithium reserves, according to a report published by Press TV on 27 February. According to a senior official of the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade (MIMT), the lithium deposits could […]
Read more »Africa’s Diesel Generation Boom
April 17th, 2023
Via Energy Monitor, an interesting look at the fact that at least 17 African countries have so many diesel generators that their collective off-grid capacity is greater than that of the power grid itself: The energy transition asks African countries to do something that has never been done before: develop without the use of fossil […]
Read more »Egypt’s Military Is Under Pressure to Loosen Its Grip on Economy
April 17th, 2023
Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, an article on how Egyptian President Sisi is showing few signs of dismantling the military’s business interests, despite pressure from the IMF and Persian Gulf backers: Outside the historic Ramses Railway Station, one of Cairo’s busiest intersections, more than a dozen food stalls and convenience stores sell a variety […]
Read more »Kenya: Is Ruto’s government dumping China for the West?
April 17th, 2023
Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at Kenya’s shift towards western investors and governments: Kenya is increasingly becoming a darling of the West when it comes to trade and investment, a momentous diplomatic deviation from the East, particularly China, which was the previous regime’s lodestar for nearly a decade: Since the new administration assumed […]
Read more »The World’s Peak Population May Be Smaller Than Expected
April 15th, 2023
Courtesy of The Economist, new evidence suggesting Africa’s birth rates are falling fast: “I have ten children,” says Rahama Sa’ad squatting outside her shack on the outskirts of Kano, the biggest city in northern Nigeria. “It’s the will of God,” she explains, as chickens, children and grandchildren scramble around her. In northern Nigeria big families […]
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.