Archive for January, 2024

Montenegro’s Scandal-ridden Chinese Road

Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how – a decade on – Montenegro  faces crippling economic challenges and environmental degradation from the ambitious (and still incomplete) highway project: Conceived and planned a decade ago under a near billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) loan by the Export-Import Bank of China, and built by […]

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Africa’s Growth Prospects in 2024: Niger Forecast To Be Fastest Growing Economy

Courtesy of Semafor, an article on Africa’s growth prospects in 2024: Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is expected to grow by 3.8% in 2024, the World Bank said in a new report. Growth in the region slowed to 2.9% in 2023, from 3.7% and 4.4% in 2022 and 2021, respectively. All but two of the 48 economies in […]

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Philippine Economic Recovery in a Rebalancing World

Via East Asia Forum, commentary on the Philippines’ economic forecast: Philippine aspirations to hit upper-middle-income country status were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but economic planners remain optimistic that this target can be achieved by 2025. If a new era of global political and economic rebalancing is taking place, there are clear internal challenges and […]

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China, Myanmar Revive Hopes for Bay of Bengal Deep Water Port in Kyaukphyu

Via South China Morning Post, an article on revived hopes for a Bay of Bengal deep water port: Renewed push for Citic-led project in Rakhine state comes amid continued clashes between ethnic rebel groups and the ruling Myanmar junta Port expected to allow Beijing to bypass South China Sea for oil imports is cited as […]

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Ghana’s Extraordinary Digital Transformation

Via New African, a look at Ghana’s extraordinary digitalization makeover: For decades, the haphazard system of property addresses in Ghana verged on the ridiculous. Despite several attempts to have a formalised structure in place, finding directions often required using local landmarks or specific vendors. Thus, the joke went, if the woman selling waakye (a local delicacy) had […]

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The Drivers and Risks of Ethiopia’s Historic Pact With Somaliland

Courtesy of Stratfor RANE’s Worldview, analysis of the drivers and risks of Ethiopia’s historic pact with Somaliland: Ethiopia’s historical deal with Somaliland granting it commercial and military access to the port of Berbera is part of Addis Ababa’s ambition to reestablish a green-water navy, but the deal’s implementation will likely reshape the politics of the […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

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.