Gulf States: Putting Their Money Into Mining
April 1st, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on the Gulf states’ investment interest in mining: In the summer of 2023, Rothschild bankers working for Zambia’s government were close to finalising a shortlist of buyers for a prized copper mine. Mopani, a troubled but rare asset formerly owned by resources giant Glencore, had drawn offers worth […]
Read more »Rogun Hydropower Plant Nears Completion in Tajikistan
April 1st, 2024
Via Geopolitical Monitor, a report on the Rogun hydropower plant in Tajikistan: In March 2024, a delegation of World Bank Group directors concluded their tour of Central Asia, stopping at the partially operable Rogun Hydropower plant. The visit was a culmination of previous World Bank commitments to the project as well as the country that faced major hiccups in […]
Read more »EV Companies Hungry For Argentina’s Lithium, Leaving Little for Argentines
April 1st, 2024
Via Rest of World, a report on Argentina’s lithium sector – where local projects stall as the mineral’s fourth-largest producer exports to the U.S. and China, and courts Elon Musk: Residents of Isla Paulino — a remote island that is not part of Argentina’s power grid — were promised a lithium-powered solar park, using locally […]
Read more »The Trouble With “the Global South”
April 1st, 2024
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs, a look at the Global South and what the West gets wrong about the rest: Not so long ago, policymakers in Washington and other Western capitals gave little apparent thought to the possibility that the rest of the world might hold opinions distinct from their own. There were some exceptions: governments […]
Read more »BRICS: The New Superpower?
April 1st, 2024
Via Diplomatic Courier, commentary on how the BRICS bloc is a growing home for nations eager to counter the West’s position, or at least hedge their bets when it comes to international trade, development support, and conflicts including Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine: Dissatisfaction with the world order, and the growing tensions between rich countries and poor […]
Read more »How a China-Built Railway is Connecting Ethiopia to the World
April 1st, 2024
Via Caixin News, an article on the Addis–Djibouti Railway which – since its launch – has transported over 677,000 passengers and nearly 9.47 million tons of freight: In the pre-dawn glow at the Akaki station just outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, people wait to board a train that quite literally connects Africa’s second most populous […]
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.