The Taliban, at Least, Are Striking Gold in Afghanistan
September 28th, 2020
Via Foreign Policy, a report on how the militant group mines almost half a billion dollars a year from Afghan soil—and wants more: For decades, Afghanistan’s untapped mineral wealth has been touted as the country’s trillion-dollar El Dorado. But while the Afghan government has never been able to monetize mountains of copper, iron ore, gold, and […]
Read more »Angola’s Privatization Program to Generate $160 Million
September 26th, 2020
Via Africa Oil & Power, an article on Angola’s planned privatization program: Angola’s Privatization Program is expected to generate over $160 million (100 billion Angolan Kwanzas) in revenue through the divestment of 51 state assets this year. Forty-five companies will complete the process of privatization by the end of this month, with the rest to […]
Read more »TAT Railway Project: A Road That Was Never Built
September 23rd, 2020
Via Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting, a look at theTurkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway project: The fate of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway is still unclear, although in terms of importance this project can compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. For Tajikistan, the main goal of the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway is an alternative […]
Read more »Whose Belt and Road Is It Anyway?
September 16th, 2020
Via Eurasianet, a look at a loss-making Tajik company behind a mysterious Belt and Road investment: Darvoz, in Tajikistan, is a province of dusky canyons and snowy peaks, villages perched across the river from Afghanistan. Terraces turn brilliant shades of green in summer with water channeled from above. Far from Dushanbe in hours and attitudes, Darvoz […]
Read more »Road To Everywhere…China’s Investment Interest In Afghanistan
September 9th, 2020
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on China’s interest in a peaceful Afghanistan: China has offered to build a road network for the Taliban if they can ensure peace in Afghanistan after the US military withdrawal, according to two senior tribal leaders in Pakistan with close ties to the militants. Diplomats from Beijing offered […]
Read more »Pandemic Slows Central Asia’s Gas Exports to China
September 9th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on COVID’s impact on exports of natural gas from Central Asia to China: Natural gas exports from the Central Asian republics began to see major drops as a result of the global economic slowdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. China, the main buyer of natural gas from Kazakhstan, […]
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.