The Rise of Durian Diplomacy
October 18th, 2025
Via Foreign Policy, a report on how – in Asia – soft power rests on a divisive, spiky fruit: The fruit’s scent announces its presence long before it comes into view. The aroma snakes down the lorongs, past the coffee houses and xian bing stalls of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, ending at the gloved hand of the local […]
Read more »US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam’s Historic Industrial Boom
June 12th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a look at how an economic boom lifted 100 million Vietnamese out of poverty. Then came the Trump rug-pull: It’s been several weeks since US President Donald Trump declared his global trade war, but Dinh Ngoc Hien is still busy tending to her stream of customers. One by one, they pluck cigarettes, noodles, […]
Read more »Vietnam Is Running Out of Sand to Fuel an Economic Boom
May 4th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a look at how a new crop of factories in Vietnam requires roads, and that means sand. To keep up, the country is importing from Cambodia on a massive scale: When President Donald Trump launched his first trade war with Beijing in 2018, driving up the cost of goods from China, companies raced to relocate […]
Read more »Vietnam’s Plan to Become a Middle Power
March 18th, 2025
Via Geopolitical Futures, a look at how Hanoi’s new leader is strengthening regional ties and placing pragmatism above ideology. Vietnam and Indonesia last week elevated their bilateral relationship to a so-called comprehensive strategic partnership, committing to deeper economic cooperation, the removal of barriers to trade and investment, and expanded defense and intelligence collaboration. The move […]
Read more »Vietnam’s Booming Korea Towns
November 15th, 2024
Via Nikkei Asia, an interesting look at Vietnam’s booming Korea Towns: Peter Jung’s very niche enterprise would have been unimaginable just a short time ago in Ho Chi Minh City. Last year he opened Fill It, a high-end clinic specializing in scalp micropigmentation, a treatment for hair loss, serving the city’s South Korean population. “Of […]
Read more »The 10 Fastest-Developing Cities on Earth
November 3rd, 2024
Via Statista, a graphical look at the 10 fastest-developing cities on Earth: Out of the world’s top 15 growth hubs, 14 are forecast to be located in Asia, according to the Growth Hub Index 2024 by British real estate service Savills. These cities have been identified as set to develop particularly quickly by 2033, based on indicators […]
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.