How Kazakhstan Became a Player in the Global Mineral Trade
July 18th, 2024
Via the New York Times, a look at how Kazakhstan’s bounty has enriched the country and grabbed the attention of entrepreneurs scrambling to control the ingredients needed to fight climate change: Kenges Rakishev, one of the richest men in Kazakhstan, stepped off a private jet at a Soviet-era airport and hopped into the lead car […]
Read more »Exhausting the Desert: Cash, Concrete, and Cucumbers in Jordan
July 18th, 2024
Courtesy of Synaps, commentary on the sustainability – or lack thereof – of Jordan’s water-based economy: Drive through Jordan in springtime, and you could easily forget that the country is among the world’s most water scarce and imports practically all its staple foods. Date groves and greenhouses line the Jordan Valley. Fields of grain sprout […]
Read more »Tajikistan: Without Reform, Central Asia’s Growth Champion Faces Tougher Times
July 18th, 2024
Via Emerging Europe, a report on Tajikistan: In order for Tajikistan to ensure sustainable development, it needs to implement structural reforms focused on enhancing economic openness and competitive neutrality, and improve public sector governance, transparency and accountability for better public service delivery. With the highest growth rate of any economy in Central and Eastern Europe […]
Read more »The Chinese Base That Isn’t There
July 15th, 2024
Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at how new port facilities and the months-long presence of Chinese warships in Cambodia show Beijing’s growing global influence: In 2020, something curious happened at Cambodia’s Ream military base, on the Gulf of Thailand. Not long after submitting — and then abruptly withdrawing — a request for […]
Read more »The Middle East’s Oil Giants Have Entered the Critical Minerals Race
July 15th, 2024
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a look at how the Middle East hydrocarbon firms are ensuring they have a seat at the critical mineral table: Oil may be the lifeblood of many Middle Eastern economies, but some of the region’s biggest players are now setting their sights on another booming energy sector: critical minerals. Minerals such […]
Read more »The Winners From U.S.-China Decoupling
July 15th, 2024
Via Foreign Policy, a report on how – from Malaysia to Mexico – some countries are gearing up to benefit from economic fragmentation: A full decoupling of the Chinese and Western economies could be a costly proposition. The International Monetary Fund estimates that it could shave around 7 percent off global GDP in the longer term, […]
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.