Johor and Malaysia’s Data Center Boom
October 26th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a report on the massive ramp-up in Malaysian data centers which is attracting foreign investment, but infrastructure challenges persists: Due to the ongoing China-U.S. geopolitical tensions, many Chinese big tech companies have looked to expand their digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia given its proximity and relatively affordable land and resources. Johor Bahru, […]
Read more »China Offers Taliban Tariff-Free Trade, Inches Closer To Regime
October 25th, 2024
Via Nikkei Asia, an article on the Taliban efforts to find foreign investors willing to help it diversify its economy and profit from its mineral wealth, but Afghanistan exported no commodities to China last year: China will offer the Taliban tariff-free access to its vast construction, energy and consumer sectors, Beijing’s envoy to Afghanistan said […]
Read more »Djibouti’s Alleged Ties to Iranian Proxies Stir Global Concerns Amid Red Sea Crisis
October 25th, 2024
Via Modern Diplomacy, a report on Djibouti’s support for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed actors: Djibouti, a small but strategically significant country located at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, has been drawing attention over its support for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed actors. Given its strategic location as a […]
Read more »BRICS Runs Into a Wall
October 25th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Futures, commentary on the latest BRICS summit in Russia which offered familiar refrains, but few concrete proposals: For leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the annual BRICS summit is an excellent opportunity to present a vision of a world in which the United States does not lead. And yet, each summit […]
Read more »Saudi Arabia and Iran: The New Battle for the Middle East
October 25th, 2024
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs, a detailed look at the clash of visions between Saudi Arabia and Iran: There are many Middle Eastern conflicts that could reshape the global political order. But the one most likely to do so is the battle between the region’s two dominant powers: the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic […]
Read more »Gold: Mined In Africa, Traded In Dubai, Profiting Warlords and Jihadists
October 25th, 2024
Via The Economist, a look at Africa’s gold mining industry: “It keeps getting worse and worse,” sighs Camry Tagoe, an activist in Accra, the capital. “If you look at Google maps, Ghana has turned from green to brown.” Over the past month Mr Tagoe has helped organise protests across the city that call for an end […]
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.