The Billionaire Brothers Betting on Syria’s Reconstruction
February 20th, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at Qatar’s Al-Khayyat brothers who are are now poised to play a leading role in rebuilding their homeland: In 2017, during the Saudi-led embargo of Qatar, local dairy company Baladna famously airlifted in thousands of cows to help guarantee milk supplies and food security in Doha. Behind the unorthodox move was the Al-Khayyat family, naturalized […]
Read more »Building Runways, Not Bridge: Qatar Charts A Different Path Into Africa
December 31st, 2025
Via The Africa Report, a look at how – as a politically palatable financier – Doha gains leverage by creating conference hubs linking the airways: In the great game of Gulf statecraft played out on African soil, the United Arab Emirates prefers concrete and cranes, snapping up ports from Berbera to Dar es Salaam. Saudi Arabia, seeking food […]
Read more »The Gulf Turns East: How Central Asia Became a New Financial Frontier
October 17th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look at how the financial map of Central Asia is changing: Central Asia is emerging as one of the most attractive destinations for financial flows from the Middle East. According to Arab News, investments from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in Central Asia have nearly tripled since 2022. Financial cooperation is also […]
Read more »How The Trumps Won The Gulf
September 4th, 2025
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on the first family’s complex, lucrative and growing business interests in the Gulf region: Donald Trump Jr looked completely at ease as he strode across the plush carpet of the Waldorf Astoria in Doha one afternoon this May. Thick hair smoothed back, custard-yellow tie on display, smile flashing, […]
Read more »Qatari Firms Pour Billions Into Syria’s Postwar Economy
July 7th, 2025
Via Semafor, a report on Qatar’s investment interest in Syria: Qatar’s longtime support for Syria’s rebels is now translating into business deals. The latest is Baladna — the food and beverage firm I helped make famous after scooping their plan to fly cows to Doha during the 2017 embargo — which plans to invest $250 million in […]
Read more »Can the Gulf Buy Its Way To AI Supermacy?
June 24th, 2025
Via Rest of World, a report on how Middle East nations have committed $2 trillion to artificial intelligence, computer chips, and defense, chasing tech supremacy that money alone may not guarantee: The UAE will add $200 billion to existing AI investments, including building the world’s largest AI campus outside the U.S. Saudi Arabia struck deals […]
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.