Archive for March, 2024

North Korea’s Economy In Retrograde

Via East Asia Forum, commentary on North Korea’s economy: In 2023, North Korea intensified its political and economic development. Pyongyang is going back to its historical roots, dedicating economic resources to the heavy industries where it has a comparative advantage. Although Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un pays lip-service to the idea of raising living standards, the […]

Read more »



A Silk Road along the Milky Way? Why China Is Giving Satellites to Egypt.

Via Geopolitical Monitor, a look at how China – to expand its geopolitical influence around the globe – has embarked on multiple projects to shape the landscape of satellites and space infrastructure to its own benefit and become a more influential player in space exploration.  These projects include launching its own satellites, building an alternative […]

Read more »



Will Floating Solar Prove Pivotal in Archipelagic Philippines?

Via EcoBusiness, a look at how floating photovoltaic systems can play a key role in Philippines’ renewable energy quest: Image: www.dantw.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr. In a growing number of developing nations, the push towards clean energy is ultimately a struggle over land use.  Utility-scale solar and wind farms need at least 10 times more land per unit of power […]

Read more »



Saudi Arabia Reviving Historic City of Diriyah To Become New Cultural Capital

Via Conde Nest Traveler, a report on how Saudi Arabia is reviving the historic city of Diriyah to become the Kingdom’s new cultural capital thanks to a government investment of $62.2 billion to develop the area into a leading regional and global hub for lifestyle, tourism, entertainment and culture: Around three hundred years ago from […]

Read more »



The Maldives Is a Tiny Paradise. Why Are China and India Fighting Over It?

Courtesy of The New York Times, an article on the Maldives, an island nation into which Asia’s two giants are crowding with building projects, tossing its newborn democracy to and fro: Between a few flecks of coral in the Indian Ocean, a ribbon of highway more than a mile long swoops up from the blue. […]

Read more »



 Ethiopian Airlines Positioning Addis Ababa As e-Commerce Logistics Hub for Africa and Beyond

Via the STAT Trade Times, a report on a new Chinese-built e-commerce logistics hub in Ethiopia that Ethiopian Airlines hopes will position Addis Ababa to be the cross-border e-commerce logistics hub for Africa and beyond: Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s biggest airline, inaugurated a state-of-the-art modern e-commerce logistics facility. The first-of-its-kind facility in Africa has been constructed […]

Read more »


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.