The State-Owned Company at the Center of Taliban Plans for Self-Sufficiency
October 26th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a report on Afghanistan’s National Development Corporation (NDC) which, even though established under the previous government, has become a key instrument for the Taliban’s economic planning: Initially an inherited afterthought from the days of the Islamic Republic, the National Development Corporation (NDC) has risen to new prominence under the Taliban government in […]
Read more »Senegal’s Cryptocurrency City Has Evaporated
October 26th, 2024
Via Foreign Policy, an article on a failed cryptocurrency city project in Senegal: American R&B singer Aliaune Thiam, professionally known as Akon, has long wanted to help Senegal, the country he grew up in. He started Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 to install cheap Chinese solar-powered lighting systems across the continent. He hoped to do […]
Read more »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 »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.