Venezuelan Oil: A Risky Investment For China
March 16th, 2012
Via The Washington Times, a report on China’s investment in Venezuelan oil: China has poured billions of dollars into Venezuela’s oil sector to expand its claim over the country’s massive oil reserves. But Beijing is getting relatively little for its investments, and Chinese officials are increasingly frustrated with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, according to energy […]
Read more »Afghanistan Joins The Railroad Era …100 Years Late
March 12th, 2012
Via The Globe and Mail, a report on Afghanistan’s railway dreams: More than a century ago, fearing that his country might be swallowed up in the Great Game rivalry between the British empire to the east and the Russian army to the north, an Afghan king made a radical decision: He banned railroads. That edict […]
Read more »MNCs and Local Companies Fight for Brazil’s Middle Class
March 12th, 2012
Via Frontier Strategy Group, a look at Brazil’s market segmentation: Multinationals in the consumer space are looking increasingly to the middle class for growth as high-end segments mature. Local firms are following their traditional customer base as it moves into the middle and upper middle class, putting them on a competitive collision course with multinationals […]
Read more »North Korea: An (Economic) Enigma Wrapped In A Riddle…
March 9th, 2012
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a look at North Korea’s economic performance: The government of North Korea regards economic statistics as state secrets, which makes the country’s economy difficult to study. I do careful survey research on the North Korean economy by surveying defectors, Chinese enterprises, and South Korean firms. Still, North Korea is so opaque […]
Read more »Colombia
March 9th, 2012
Via Mark Mobius’ blog, a look at Colombia, an investment destination growing in attractiveness: Colombia is a land of culturally rich colonial cities, lanky skyscrapers, pristine beaches, dense Amazon jungle, snow-capped Andean and Sierra Nevadan mountains, archeological ruins and home to author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And, I should add, in my view, a country ripe […]
Read more »Pakistan: Left Behind
March 1st, 2012
Via The Financial Times, a look at Pakistan’s economic under-performance: Last month, Pakistan celebrated the launch of a new railway service between Karachi, the commercial capital, and Lahore, near the border with India. Crammed with flatscreen televisions and attentive stewards, the Pak Business Express, run under a public-private partnership, completed its inaugural 1,200km voyage 10 […]
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.