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: Economic Dawn or Dusk?
May 24th, 2025
Via The Economist, a look at Vietnam’s economy, which some fear may soon run out of steam: IT IS A contrarian argument from an improbable contrarian. Vietnam’s economy may be the envy of South-East Asia, having averaged 6% annual growth over the past 15 years, but it is in urgent need of radical reform. So, at […]
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 »Current Ambitions: The World’s Next EV Superpower?
March 26th, 2025
Via The Economist, a look at where three Asian countries vying to become the next electric-vehicle superpower: IN A SCRAPPY office that is more startup than ivory tower, Yossapong Laoonual, honorary chairman of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, strikes a bullish tone. Clinging to the internal-combustion engine is “like doubling down on horse-drawn carriages long […]
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 »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.