April 10th, 2021
Via The East Asia Forum, a report on North Korea’s economy: In North Korea, many enjoy making money for themselves by selling products in private markets. Under Kim Jong-un, expanding these markets became a source of tax revenue for the regime. But this changed in the past year with the outbreak of COVID-19. The closure […]
Read more »Congo, Cobalt, and the Electric Car Boom
April 10th, 2021
Via The Economist, an article on the ugly dash for cobalt in Congo: On the streets of Kolwezi, a mining city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, huge billboards advertise “executive” mobile-phone-data packages, a few gigabytes for a few dollars. They are popular not just with the suited types shown on the hoardings; they also […]
Read more »April 8th, 2021
Via The Diplomat, a report on a Chinese casino magnate’s interest in expanding into Laos: A secretive, sanctioned Chinese casino mogul is looking to expand his economic empire in Laos, unfurling plans to develop tourism projects and other business ventures in remote corners of the country. According to a report by Radio Free Asia (RFA)’s Lao service, an indispensable […]
Read more »Pakistan’s Geoeconomic Dreams
April 8th, 2021
Via Foreign Policy, an article on Pakistan’s geoeconomic dreams/delusions: In recent weeks, senior Pakistani officials, including the country’s powerful army chief, have signaled or outright said that, from now on, their country’s foreign policy will emphasize geoeconomics. This is a welcome rhetorical shift. Decades of bartering Pakistan’s geostrategic value—including as a “front-line state” in the Cold War and […]
Read more »April 5th, 2021
Via NK News, an article on a pipeline for crude oil between China and the DPRK: North Korea fired its way back into international headlines in March when it launched two short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, sparking outcry from officials in Seoul, Washington, Tokyo and beyond. Back in 2017, the United Nations had had enough […]
Read more »Trouble With Emerged Markets?
April 5th, 2021
Courtesy of The Financial Times, interesting commentary on emerging markets which may not be as fast a growth story as people think: In 2016 I joined a group of professional investors who travelled to Bangladesh to study emerging markets. On leaving the exchange in Dhaka we had to squeeze past some people tending to a dead […]
Read more »