Diversification Benefits of Frontier Markets
February 8th, 2008
As reported by The International Herald Tribune, “frontier” markets are gaining even more interest than before in light of the recent turmoil in more developed markets. As the article notes, what has started to come home to investors is that frontier markets, which are remarkably diverse, have achieved these good returns with low correlation to […]
Read more »A Scramble to Exploit Africa’s Significant Gas Reserves
January 28th, 2008
As reported in a recent Financial Times article, with Europe concerned over Russia’s political motives in exploiting its energy wealth and big international companies shut out or deterred from investing in the Middle East, many eyes have turned to Africa in the hope of securing future supplies of gas. However, as companies scramble to gain […]
Read more »Scramble for Africa…The “Final Frontier” of Conventional Sources of Oil
January 25th, 2008
As reported by Reuters, high oil prices and the onslaught of resource nationalism from Russia to South America have sent Western majors delving ever deeper into the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, triggering a new scramble for Africa. As the article notes: “…Unlike more established oil-producing regions, the Gulf of Guinea offers easy access […]
Read more »Gazprom’s African Gas Grab
January 4th, 2008
From The Financial Times, a report that Gazprom is offering to invest in Nigeria’s energy infrastructure in return for the chance to develop some of the biggest gas deposits in the worlds, a move that will undoubtedly heighten concerns among western governments over its increasingly powerful grip on gas supplies to Europe. As the article […]
Read more »Frontier Markets: An Index for Investment Success?
November 28th, 2007
From The Financial Times, an interesting look at the S&P Select Frontier Index which consists of 30 of the largest and most liquid companies in markets excluded from the more mainstream S&P/IFCI Emerging Markets Index, primarily from smaller emerging markets such as Bahrain, Croatia, Jordan and Vietnam, plus some from more unexpected markets, such as […]
Read more »China: Banking on Africa
October 31st, 2007
A few interesting articles, courtesy of Bloomberg and The Financial Times, detailing two recent Chinese investments into the African banking sector, namely Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.’s move to buy 20 percent of Standard Bank Group Ltd. (Africa’s largest bank) and China Development Bank’s partnership with United Bank for Africa, one of Nigeria’s […]
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.