Archive for June, 2024

Critical Infrastructure and Power Games in China-EU Relations

Via Institut Montaigne, a report on China’s investment in strategic infrastructure, though often overlooked, which was a primary factor in the decline of China-EU relations: Over the past decade, numerous factors have contributed to the deterioration of relations between China and the European Union. Of those factors, China’s investment in strategic infrastructure is often overlooked, […]

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Africa Needs More American Involvement — Not Less

Via Foreign Affairs, commentary on U.S. engagement in Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa is facing headwinds it hasn’t experienced in more than 30 years. Since 2020, the region has been buffeted by coups, conflicts, and crises, with nine military takeovers in the past five years, more than the total number of coups d’état in the region between […]

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The Empty Promise of Africa’s Oil and Gas Boom

Via Foreign Policy, commentary on Africa, a continent awash in fossil fuel discoveries, but relying on them for development will be disastrous: Recent weeks have brought news of the discovery and development of major oil and natural gas reserves from opposite sides of the African continent. According to regional leaders, these reserves are so immense […]

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Pakistan’s Quantum Quest: Hurdles and Hopes

Via The Diplomat, an article on Pakistan’s establishment of the National Center for Quantum Computing: Pakistan is poised to make significant strides in the field of quantum technology with the establishment of its National Center for Quantum Computing, as announced by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. This initiative marks a critical step toward overcoming the […]

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How the Taliban Took Over Afghanistan’s Mines

Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on Afghanistan’s mining sector under the Taliban, which has issued hundreds of deals to tap gold, gemstones and minerals: Afghanistan has long been a fabled land for miners. The mountainous country sits on an estimated $1tn of materials that decades of war have largely put off limits. But […]

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Africa’s Telco Kings Are Evolving

Via TechSafari, commentary on how Africa’s telecom kings are reinventing themselves: The world’s top companies are tech giants: Microsoft, Apple, and NVIDIA. Microsoft makes software like Windows and Office. Apple creates iPhones, Macs, and other cool gadgets. While NVIDIA builds chips used by over 90% of AI companies – it’s the AI engine 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.