China’s African Bet and Vice Versa: A Positive-Sum Game?
September 9th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, commentary on how – despite criticism and skepticism – China seems to be Africa’s last hope, if not its best bet: The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit was held in Beijing from September 4 to 6. During the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping told delegates from more than 50 African states that Beijing was ready […]
Read more »Chad’s Cash Cow Gum Arabic Fine?Tunes Its Future
September 9th, 2024
Via The Africa Report, a report on Chad’s gum arabic industry: As the world’s second largest producer of acacia gum, Chad is benefitting from rising prices linked to the war in neighbouring Sudan. But to meet global demand for this essential raw material for the food and pharmaceutical industries, it needs to find ways to […]
Read more »Foreign Investment Trends in Latin America
September 8th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Futures, a report on FDI trends in Latin America, where FDI is in high demand, but most goes to just a few countries: Latin American countries remain trapped in a low-growth environment, hindered by economic volatility, high inequality and ineffective governance. As a result, many governments in the region are turning to foreign […]
Read more »Ethiopia’s Beetle Mania: How An Entire Country Fell In Love With Volkswagen’s Quirky Classic
September 8th, 2024
Ethiopia’s enduring love for the Volkswagen beetle is unrivaled. The classic vehicle arrived in Ethiopia during the reign of Haile Selassie. As reported in The Guardian, it remains popular in part because of Ethiopia’s distorted car market, where import duties of up to 200% mean secondhand vehicles are wildly expensive: When Yared Agonafer, an Ethiopian […]
Read more »Unregistered Three-Wheelers: Antidote to Philippines Traffic
September 7th, 2024
Via Rest of World, a look at how Filipinos are embracing electric three-wheelers faster than officials can regulate them Unregistered three-wheelers big enough for whole families are a popular antidote to the country’s terrible gridlock. The Philippines has been slow to adopt electric vehicles, with light EVs as the exception. Filipinos have embraced e-tricycles that […]
Read more »Nobody’s Backyard: A Confident Central Asia
September 7th, 2024
Via Carnegie, an article on how the decline of the United States’ influence in Eurasia and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have thrust the smaller nations of Central Asia into the global spotlight: Central Asia has faced seismic geopolitical shifts over the past few years. Major global crises—the deterioration of U.S. relations with China and ensuing […]
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.