Author Archive

DRC’s Gecamines Offers $1M To Block Chinese Deal with Cobalt Miner Chemaf

Via Reuters, a report on a contested DRC mining project: Chemaf cash crunch worsens as Norinco deal stalls US officials say alternative to Norinco must be found, source says Gecamines says China’s Norinco will not buy Chemaf assets The Democratic Republic of Congo’s state miner Gecamines is offering $1 million to buy cobalt and copper […]

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The Global North and South Need a New Industrial Pact

Courtesy of The Diplomat, commentary that – to truly counter China’s Belt and Road – the G-7 needs a new development business model with the Global South: As the world economy fractures into “West” and “East,” the race for the Global South is on. Decoupling is reconfiguring supply chains, and the Global South wants a […]

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Emerging Markets: Holding Reins of Future Growth and Future of Multilateralism

Via the IMF, commentary on how emerging markets hold both the reins of future growth and the keys to the future of multilateralism: As advanced economies turn increasingly inward, emerging markets have an important stake in the defense against global economic fragmentation.  Having grown in both size and global economic stature—on the back of greater […]

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Why Did Iraq Suspend a $10 Billion Deal With China?

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 […]

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Central Asia Investing in Itself

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 […]

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A New Corporate Playbook for Navigating Political Uncertainty in Latin America

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 […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

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.