Is Laos Planning to Sell Off More of Its Energy Sector to China?
July 2nd, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a look at how Laos’ power utility’s recent curious dealings with a prominent local conglomerate suggest that something is afoot: What is happening at Électricité du Laos (EDL), Laos’ badly indebted state-run energy utility? Up until early 2021, it owned a three-quarters stake in the EDL-Generation Public Company (EDL-Gen), a publicly listed […]
Read more »Chinese Megaprojects Back In Fashion In Central Asia’s Poorest States
June 30th, 2024
Via Radio Free Europe, a look at Chinese mega investments in Central Asia: For most of the last two decades, China has been the most obvious source of foreign direct investment for the countries of Central Asia. But for the two poorest countries of the region — Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — truly strategic investment from […]
Read more »Train Diplomacy: Revisit the Efforts Made by Two Big Giants of Asia in Indonesia
June 29th, 2024
Via Modern Diplomacy, an article on how Japan has long been seen as the leading Asian country in train technology and transportation systems. But with the rise of China and its Belt and Road Initiative, Japan’s long-standing leadership began to be threatened: As governments race to build new rail infrastructures to reintroduce this environmentally sustainable […]
Read more »China’s Subsea Cable Drive Defies U.S. Sanctions
June 28th, 2024
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at how subsea cables are set to become an even hotter battleground between the U.S. and China: For Chinese undersea cable maker Wuhan FiberHome International Technologies, being banned by the U.S. government is nothing to worry about. It has, in fact, been good for business. “We don’t care about the […]
Read more »Critical Infrastructure and Power Games in China-EU Relations
June 27th, 2024
Via Institut Montaigne, a report on China’s investment in strategic infrastructure, though often overlooked, which was a primary factor in the decline of China-EU relations: Over the past decade, numerous factors have contributed to the deterioration of relations between China and the European Union. Of those factors, China’s investment in strategic infrastructure is often overlooked, […]
Read more »For American Brands Worried About China, Is India the Future?
June 26th, 2024
Courtesy of The New York Times, a look at how some multinational retailers are diminishing their dependence on Chinese factories by shifting production to India: Melissa & Doug had a situation. For decades, the American toy brand had leaned heavily on factories in China to make its products — wooden puzzles, stuffed animals, play mats. Suddenly, […]
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.