Why Did Iraq Suspend a $10 Billion Deal With China?
November 22nd, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a look at how the decision to stall a massive oil-for-infrastructure agreement marks a turning point in Middle East power dynamics: In a significant geopolitical development, Iraq’s $10 billion oil-for-infrastructure agreement with China has effectively stalled. The ambitious project, initially established under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, had positioned Iraq as […]
Read more »Central Asia Investing in Itself
November 21st, 2024
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how – while foreign investment has long been a focus for Central Asia – regional countries are now increasingly investing within the region itself: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Astana in August 2024 marked the inaugural meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. As both […]
Read more »A New Corporate Playbook for Navigating Political Uncertainty in Latin America
November 21st, 2024
Via Harvard Business Review, commentary on how companies operating in Latin America and the Caribbean are facing a dynamic and increasingly complex political landscape: In October 2023, First Quantum, operator of one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mines, suffered a major setback as it tried to negotiate a new contract with the government of […]
Read more »Kiirdom: The Sprawling Corporate Kingdom of South Sudan’s First Family
November 20th, 2024
Via The Sentry, a report on South Sudan’s Kiir family’s secret business empire: Today, The Sentry published a massive trove of data exposing the control by the family of South Sudan President Salva Kiir over a secret business empire. “Kiirdom: The Sprawling Corporate Kingdom of South Sudan’s First Family,” provides a deep dive into the […]
Read more »Grab Built Its Own Map in Southeast Asia, and Is Now Going After Google
November 19th, 2024
Via Rest of World, a look at how Grab – the Asian super app – uses its own drivers and cameras to create hyperlocal maps in eight countries: Grab began mapping locations because Google Maps and Here were inadequate for its drivers’ needs. It has trained drivers to use its own cameras to map streets […]
Read more »Côte d’Ivoire: Africa’s Biggest Wine Importer
November 19th, 2024
Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at Africa’s biggest wine importing nation: In 2023, Côte d’Ivoire imported the equivalent of $64m worth of wine. The rise of the middle class, paired with changing consumer habits, has made the country the continent’s leading importer. Côte d’Ivoire is Africa’s leading importer of wine, a fact confirmed […]
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.