Via Times of Central Asia, a report on Ashgabat’s efforts to diversify its gas exports and find investors in its hydrocarbon projects: Turkmenistan possesses huge natural-gas reserves but for now has only one buyer of its gas — China. As the Turkmen economy is experiencing a downturn caused by low gas prices in the world market, […]
Read more »Via Future Directions International, an article looking at Saudi Arabia and China’s investment influence in Pakistan: Background During his visit to Pakistan in 2015, President Xi of China entered into an agreement with Islamabad to invest around US$46 billion in the country. It was estimated that a full 80 per cent of that sum – […]
Read more »Courtesy of The New York Times, a detailed interesting look at Saudi Arabia, where low crude prices and the war in Yemen have sent a shock through the kingdom’s budget and forced it to revise its social contract even as it seeks to diversify its businesses: This is what it takes to run a mega-dairy […]
Read more »Via Frontera News, a look at the role of Egypt in China’s Silk Road strategy: Egypt’s transfer of two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi sovereignty sparked street protests and a social media backlash: #Egyptissold. Yet Tiran and Sanafir are pinpricks next to the much bigger land grab by Beijing onshore. Granted, the twin islands […]
Read more »Via the Geopolitical Monitor, an interesting look at how Egypt’s economic struggles have allowed Saudi Arabia to increase its hold over a major geopolitical prize of waterborne trade – the Suez Canal: The Arab Spring uprising left Egypt with an assortment of leaders and an uncertain future. After the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February […]
Read more »Via The Economist, a report on Saudi Arabia’s consideration of an IPO of Aramco, probably the world’s most valuable company: SAUDI ARABIA is thinking about listing shares in Saudi Aramco, the state-owned company that is the world’s biggest oil producer and almost certainly the world’s most valuable company. Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s deputy crown […]
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