China’s Belt and Road Pivots From Coal Plants To Data Centers
May 9th, 2023
Courtesy of Nikkei Asia, an article on the shifting sectoral focus of China’s BRI program: China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been shifting away from signature big infrastructure projects in favor of less capital-intensive fields like IT and biotechnology, investment data shows. Nikkei tallied new “greenfield” investment — which involves building operations from the ground […]
Read more »Uzbekistan-Russia Energy Relations: A Tale of Two Problems
May 9th, 2023
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at Uzbek-Russian energy relations: Faced with dwindling gas sales to Europe, Russia has been re-routing its stranded gas reserves to countries like Uzbekistan, where infrastructure for pumping gas is already in place. This renewed cooperation presents both a problem and an opportunity for Tashkent. A flurry of recent bilateral […]
Read more »No, China Is Not Planning to Spend $58 Billion on a Railway Connection to Pakistan
May 7th, 2023
Courtesy of The Diplomat, an article on the proposed railway at the China-Pakistan border at the Khunjerab Pass: An article published by the South China Morning Post on April 27 reported that a feasibility study had deemed the China-Pakistan railway, costing $58 billion, as “worth it.” This news was picked up by various media platforms […]
Read more »Guinea: Key Player In EV Future
May 7th, 2023
Courtesy of The Washington Post, a look at how soaring demand for electric vehicles is fueling dramatic changes in Guinea, home to the world’s largest bauxite reserves: One of the poorest countries on Earth has become a crucial player in the world’s green-energy transition. Guinea, a West African nation of more than 13 million people, […]
Read more »Egypt: On Way to BRICS Membership?
May 7th, 2023
Via Modern Diplomacy, commentary on the potential for Egypt to join BRICS: BRICS is a group created in 2009 that includes China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa. The BRICS countries represent 42% of the world’s population, 24% of global GDP. They account for 16% of world exports and 15% of world imports of goods […]
Read more »Sudan: Why Gold and War Do Not Mix
May 5th, 2023
Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at the impact that Sudan’s current conflict is having upon its legal – and illegal – gold industry: In 2022, Sudan’s gold exports reached almost $2.5bn, equivalent to about 42tn sold. This was good for almost 45% of national exports before the tables turned the following year in […]
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.