Dubai’s Chocolate Diplomacy
January 15th, 2025
Via Modern Diplomacy, a report on the Dubai Chocolate Bar which – starting from early 2024 – has been an internet and social media phenomenon: Starting from early 2024, the internet has gone wild and curious about the chocolate bar that went viral on social media platforms, especially TikTok, which is a platform for sharing […]
Read more »Stakes Rise in Southeast Asia’s Casino Race as Singapore’s Rivals Place Bets
January 14th, 2025
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at how growing casino industries in Thailand and Philippines are threatening Singapore’s regional leadership in the space: When Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort went almost completely dark during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, the absence of guests in the three gleaming towers, with their casinos, hotels, malls and event spaces, symbolized the […]
Read more »After Half-Century Hiatus, Ethiopia Launches New Stock Exchange
January 12th, 2025
Via The Africa Report, a report on how the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) aims to ‘buck the trend’ among African bourses, where listings and liquidity are often lacking: A new stock exchange officially opened in Ethiopia is the country’s first since the fall of Haile Selassie’s imperial regime in 1974. Government officials say the launch of ESX […]
Read more »Mali to Get $1.2 Billion From Miners After Talks
January 11th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a report on Mali’s mining sector: Cash-strapped junta brought miners to the negotiating table Miners had already paid 500 billion CFA francs by December Mali is set to get 750 billion CFA francs ($1.2 billion) from miners in the first quarter this year following an overhaul of its mining sector. In late December, […]
Read more »Afghanistan Continues to Refine Its Extraction Strategy
January 11th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, an article on how the Taliban are gradually increasing revenue streams from resource extraction operations in an effort to minimize the impact of Western pressure: As the Taliban crack sharply down on non-governmental organizations and women’s rights, its government is gradually increasing revenue streams from resource extraction operations as it seeks to […]
Read more »Indonesia’s EV Bet: Economic Nationalists Making A Reckless Bet
January 11th, 2025
Via The Economist, commentary on Indonesia’s EV bet: Nothing emboldens politicians like defying the world’s advice and being proved right. Such is the case in Indonesia. In 2014 the country moved to ban exports of unprocessed ores. The idea was to force companies that crave its abundant minerals to refine them inside the country, capturing valuable investment […]
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.