Via Eurasia Review, a look at – in a move that will up alarms in India – China’s giant conglomerate Sinopec is entering Sri Lanka’s energy market with its inaugural overseas refinery at the Chinese-managed Hambantota port. Sri Lanka approved the $4.5 Bn investment in November: Doubtlessly, this strategic move flags Sinopec’s ambition to offset […]
Read more »Via The Asia Times, a look at how both Beijing and Washington seem to have sensed change in tone under new PM Hun Manet and are making moves to win his favor: On June 4, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia in what was widely touted as a “historic” trip, the first by a Pentagon […]
Read more »Via Nikkei Asia, a look at the growing investment race for EV metals in Africa: Businesses from the U.S., Japan and Europe are moving to tap mineral reserves in Central Africa, using the latest technologies to locate critical electric vehicle materials, as China currently dominates development on the continent. The so-called Copperbelt spans across the […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Information, a look at how the venture arm of Mubadala, the United Arab Emirates’ giant sovereign wealth fund, has elbowed its way into tech’s clubby investing circles under the leadership of Ibrahim Ajami. But missteps with its European dealmaking and skepticism about its direct investments in startups show it still has progress […]
Read more »Via The Diplomat, a look at the Middle Corridor but – for more commodities to move west from Central Asia – better infrastructure, more inter-agency cooperation, and modern customs systems are necessary: The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Kathleen Tai visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in mid-June, the first time a USTR has ever visited the Central Asian region. […]
Read more »Via Nikkei Asia, a look at the growing popularity of Japanese ice cream melts hearts in Asia, where Taiwan is top overseas market, with Malaysia emerging as new battleground: Japan’s ice cream industry has been hot since last summer, fueled by scorching temperatures and record-high shipments to Taiwan and other markets. Sales of the frozen […]
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