Idyllic Beach Resort Run By Sri Lanka’s Bloated Military
October 2nd, 2022
Via the Financial Times, a report on come unusual commercial activities led by Sri Lanka’s bloated military: The Laya is much like any other three-star resort on Sri Lanka’s glistening coast. About an hour south of Colombo, it is a popular spot for weddings and city dwellers hoping the sprawling beachfront garden, cricket pitch and […]
Read more »How Sri Lanka Can Overcome Its Economic Crisis
August 26th, 2022
Via The Diplomat, an article on how the Sri Lankan government could take advantage of the crisis to do things that it could never attempt before, from addressing regressive subsidies to restructuring state-owned enterprises: Winston Churchill’s famous dictum, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” could not be more apt for Sri Lanka in […]
Read more »Why A Chinese Ship’s Arrival In Sri Lanka Caused Alarm In India and The West
August 20th, 2022
Via NPR, an article on why a Chinese ship’s arrival in Sri Lanka has caused alarm in India and the West: It all began 20 years ago, when China loaned Sri Lanka more than $1 billion to build a fancy new port — what would become its second-largest — on its southern coast. The Hambantota […]
Read more »Road To Nowhere? China’s Belt and Road Initiative At Tipping Point
August 16th, 2022
Courtesy of Nikkei Asia, a report on China BRI, and whether the Pakistan, Sri Lanka debt crises threaten Beijing’s regional influence: The drive to Pakistan’s port of Gwadar takes seven and a half hours from Karachi via the Makran coastal highway. Much of the 600-km route is deserted, with no restaurants, restrooms or even fuel stations. […]
Read more »Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprises: A Big Part of Its Economic Problems
July 28th, 2022
Via The Diplomat, a look at Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises whose loss-making operations are a huge drain on government coffers: Sri Lanka is in an unenviable position, and its policy makers face a conundrum. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a century. Sri Lanka has formally defaulted; its public debt is over 100 percent of GDP […]
Read more »Sri Lanka — On The Painful Path To Recovery
July 18th, 2022
Via Mark Mobius, a reminder that crises can prove to be profitable times for investing: When Sri Lanka’s financial crisis started to deepen a few months ago, I decided to visit the country to observe first-hand the political and social developments. At the time, street demonstrations were still peaceful and power outages were few and […]
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.