The Edifice Complex: Skyscrapers Reflect Geopolitical Ambitions
September 28th, 2024
Via The Economist, a look at what skyscrapers reveal about the countries that build them: A skyscraper is a statement of ambition. No surprise, then, that Saudi Arabia wants to build the world’s tallest. Construction on the Jeddah Tower stopped in 2018 but will restart soon; when completed, it will be the first building ever […]
Read more »Driving Change: How EVs Are Reshaping China’s Economic Relationship with Latin America
September 28th, 2024
Via the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a report on how Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are navigating a new geopolitical moment. Some LAC countries are benefitting from increased access to low-cost, high-quality electric vehicles (EVs) and new investment throughout the value chain from China that can help meet governments’ […]
Read more »The U.S. Has a Better Offer for Africa Than Debt
September 28th, 2024
Via Foreign Policy, commentary on how the U.S. can be more strategic in its outreach to Africa given that Washington can’t outcompete Beijing-backed banks: This month, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged more than $29 billion in new lending commitments at the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Washington has once again misunderstood this as a symbol of Chinese economic strength. […]
Read more »Kazakhstan: Well Positioned To Become Global Player In Green Hydrogen Industry
September 28th, 2024
Courtesy of Illuminem, a detailed analysis of Kazakhstan’s green hydrogen-water-food nexus: Kazakhstan is well-positioned to become a global player in the green H2 industry. According to Carbon Tracker (2023), “the upcoming 10-15 years will be crucial for laying the foundation of the new economy [in Kazakhstan]. Failure to do so will result in economic stranding […]
Read more »The Laotian Las Vegas
September 28th, 2024
Via Airmail, commentary on one reporter’s weekend in the Laotian Las Vegas, where an opulent casino lies at the heart of a vast human-, drug-, and wildlife-trafficking operation: In July, two friends and I arrived at an immigration checkpoint in the Thai port of Chiang Saen, duffel bags in tow. We were going to the […]
Read more »A Strategic Win: Pakistan-Turkmenistan Gwadar Deal Redefines Regional Trade
September 28th, 2024
Via Eurasia Review, commentary on how the Pakistan-Turkmenistan Gwadar deal will redefines regional trade: As global power dynamics shift, Pakistan stands at the forefront of a new geopolitical landscape, solidifying its role as a regional powerhouse with the upcoming signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkmenistan for access to Gwadar Port. This development, […]
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.