Know What's Happening in Emerging Markets
Know What's Happening in Emerging Markets
Taiwan Secures New LNG Supply Commitments Amid Middle‑East Tensions
Taiwan’s economy minister said a major LNG‑producing country has pledged to meet the island’s natural‑gas needs and will provide extra cargoes on request. The agreement with the United States adds a delivery of 1.2 million tonnes of LNG each year, diversifying Taiwan’s import mix as the Iran war threatens Middle‑East supplies.
Asia’s political landscape saw several notable moves in early March 2026. China’s top advisory body set its agenda for the CPPCC session, while Japan rushed its fiscal 2026 budget and adopted a cautious stance on the Iran‑Israel conflict. South Korea’s ruling party faced a steep plunge in poll numbers and the government convened emergency meetings over Middle‑East tensions, and Indonesia secured a reduced U.S. tariff rate. Meanwhile, advances in Chinese humanoid robotics and Southeast Asian navies’ quantum initiatives highlighted the region’s growing tech focus.
Platinum Credit Uganda, a Platcorp subsidiary, secured a $4 million, 24‑month investment from Swiss asset manager Symbiotics to broaden financing for low‑income households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Uganda. The capital, disbursed on 22 December 2025, enabled a phased rollout...
In 2025, women-only founders raised just 0.9% of African startup capital, while women-led firms received only 2.2% of funding. The African Women Impact Fund (AWIF), launched with $60 million and bolstered by an extra $10 million from Standard Bank, aims to close...
Development finance in 2026 faces a structural squeeze: official development assistance dropped 9 % in 2024 and continues to tighten while climate‑related funding needs soar into the trillions. The gap is most acute for emerging markets, which bear the highest capital...
The 2025 RAW Conference in Nairobi urged African female leaders to design indigenous leadership and equity frameworks instead of relying on imported Western models. Panelists highlighted the shortcomings of performative diversity and called for structures grounded in African realities to...
Brazil deepened its agricultural partnership with the Philippines at WOFEX Drinks and Bakes 2026, showcasing five firms that offer value‑added beverages, superfoods, and coffee products. The Brazil Pavilion highlighted innovative, sustainability‑focused offerings such as Amazon‑sourced craft gin, açaí bowls, and...
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released its latest Crisis Alert Levels for Middle‑East nations, placing Palestine, Syria and Yemen at Level 4, Iraq and Lebanon at Level 3, and Iran and Israel at Level 2, while Jordan remains at Level 1 and...
Total deposit liabilities in the Philippine banking system climbed to ₱20.9 trillion at the end of Q3 2025, a 7.3% year‑on‑year rise driven by a 20.4% surge in deposit accounts to 166.6 million. The increase followed a March 2025 decision to double...
Critical minerals have become the centerpiece of the U.S.-China rivalry, but the contest is playing out in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. While China dominates mid‑stream processing of rare earths and battery materials, Washington is building "friend‑shoring" partnerships to...
Sunil Mani’s new book India’s High‑Tech Leap reviews the rise of six high‑tech sectors—pharmaceuticals, software services, COVID‑19 vaccines, wind turbines, solar photovoltaics and electric vehicles—under India’s Make‑in‑India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. He credits government intervention and public‑private collaboration for early successes but flags...
India’s cumulative exports reached $720.76 billion in April‑January 2025‑26, a 6.15% increase over the same period last year. Services exports surged 10.57% to $354.13 billion, while merchandise categories such as electronics and pharmaceuticals posted broad‑based gains. Defence exports hit a record Rs 23,622 crore,...
Vietnam's Agency of Foreign Trade issued Dispatch No. 229/XNK‑TLH warning that the recent escalation of Middle East hostilities poses serious risks to international transport, trade and supply chains. The agency highlighted expected spikes in consumer‑goods, fuel and oil prices, which...
German politician Merz blamed low productivity for China’s competitive edge, arguing Germans must work harder. The article counters that China’s advantage stems from systemic factors—an undervalued yuan, extensive subsidies and strategic industrial policy—that create a 40‑60% price gap despite higher...
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni secured a seventh term in the January 2026 elections with 71.6% of the vote, while opposition leader Bobi Wine received 24% amid allegations of fraud and election‑related violence. Over his 40‑year rule, Museveni has overseen steady...
South Africa’s green transition is boosting employment, with green jobs rising from 12.4% of the labour force in 2022 to 14.8% in 2024. Growth is concentrated in utilities, mining, construction and finance, driven by government procurement and sustainable‑finance policies. However,...
Indonesia holds roughly 24‑29 GW of technically recoverable geothermal resources but operates only about 2.71 GW, a fraction of its potential. A new partnership between Star Energy Geothermal and US firm SLB aims to de‑risk the Sekincau field and assets in North...
India’s Godavari Biorefineries will commission a 200 kilolitres‑per‑day grain‑based distillery in the June quarter, adding the ability to switch between sugarcane and corn as feedstock. The move addresses margin pressure from fixed cane payments and volatile sugar prices, while leveraging the...
Indian buyers are likely to face higher prices for pistachios, figs and raisins as the Gulf crisis shuts key Iranian and Afghan export routes. Pistachio prices have risen about ₹100 per kilogram, while figs are up a similar amount and...
Two landmark hotel assets in Vietnam were sold for a combined $53.7 million. Singapore‑based UOL Group off‑loaded the 186‑room Park Royal Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City to a domestic investor, while the five‑star Hotel Perle D’Orient Cat Ba on Cat Ba Island was...
The United States has built the Genesis supercomputing platform, giving American AI firms structured access through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, but it excludes AUKUS partners. While Australia and the United Kingdom pour billions into quantum and autonomous defense technologies,...
The death of Iran’s supreme leader and subsequent missile exchanges have raised alarms about a possible Straits of Hormuz shutdown, which could cut 10‑20 million barrels per day from global supply. Analysts debate the price impact, with some warning that panic...
South Korea’s National Assembly approved amendments that dramatically reduce setback distances for renewable‑energy installations, shifting authority from local governments to the central government. The change comes amid a spate of high‑profile accidents, including a wind turbine collapse, a turbine‑blade fire,...
Former Guam lieutenant governor Michael Cruz warns that the island’s strategic value in the Indo‑Pacific is outpacing U.S. defensive investments. While Guam anchors air, naval and logistics operations essential for power projection, China and North Korea view it as a...
India’s economy is modernising rapidly, creating a fertile backdrop for mid‑cap equities. The India Capital Growth Fund highlights three stocks positioned to capture this wave: Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), which benefits from a deepening commodity market; Aether Industries, a niche...
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Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers convened an emergency video‑linked session on March 1, condemning Iran’s recent missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar as “flagrant and unjustified.” The attacks were a retaliation to joint US‑Israeli operations...
Senior adviser Ali Larijani, a key figure in Iran’s post‑Khamenei crisis management, denied reports that Tehran was ready to resume talks with Washington via Omani mediators, posting “We will not negotiate with the United States” on X on March 1. His denial...
India’s manufacturing PMI climbed to 56.9 in February, the strongest level in four months, driven by a surge in domestic new orders and higher production volumes. Export orders, however, slipped to a 17‑month low as U.S. tariff uncertainty lingered. Input‑cost...
The Capital Flows Research team notes that geopolitical instability and AI safety concerns are increasingly overlapping, creating a compounded risk environment. The analyst introduced a new AI-driven mapping tool and released a suite of TradingView indicators to monitor these dynamics....
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) opened down 1.73% to 1,501.78 as investors reacted to the Iran‑US conflict. Energy‑linked shares such as PTTEP and PTT rose, while non‑energy stocks like Gulf Energy, Bumrungrad Hospital and Airports of Thailand fell sharply....
A strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, reportedly killed more than 150 people, many of them children, and injured dozens. Iranian officials say the school was hit while adjacent to an IRGC naval base, but...
An Israeli‑U.S. strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader has weakened the Islamic Republic, prompting speculation that its eventual collapse could reshape Asian economic ties. Iran holds the world’s fourth‑largest oil reserves and the second‑largest gas deposits, assets long constrained by...
Thoughts? The Iran war and oil crisis affect your money across four key areas: oil prices and inflation, stock market volatility, cryptocurrency movements, and overlooked opportunities in uranium and energy security stocks.
China’s ‘Two Sessions’ to Shed Light on What Lies Ahead for Economy—Beijing’s target-setting takes place against a high-stakes backdrop https://t.co/sxAHsLFpcV https://t.co/sxAHsLFpcV
Qantas Airways’ shares plunged more than 10% to A$8.92, their lowest level in ten months, after the United States and Israel launched large‑scale strikes on Iran, sending oil prices sharply higher. The geopolitical flare‑up forced the closure of key Middle...
“At a time when Tokyo and Beijing appear to be drifting further apart politically, Japanese capital is moving in the opposite direction…Japanese foreign direct investment into China surged by 55.5% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025.” https://t.co/osyTCAOqOp
Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover jumped to $5.8 bn in January, a 29.2% year‑on‑year increase. Exports rose 26.7% to $1.69 bn, driven by industrial goods, food, chemicals and services, while imports climbed 30.3% to $4.14 bn, widening the trade deficit to $2.44 bn. China remained...
Interesting piece from Bloomberg's Shuli Ren, on the risk that Asia's wildly undervalued currencies might have an explosive appreciation ... 1/3 https://t.co/j9M2wdl5ED
The United States and Israel’s air campaign against Iran threatens the Russia‑Iran “North‑South” trade corridor, a lifeline that helps Moscow evade Western sanctions and sustain its war in Ukraine. The corridor, recently bolstered by a Russian‑Iran rail modernisation agreement, now...
Armenia and Azerbaijan are treading carefully after a US‑Israeli strike on Iran, fearing spill‑over effects on regional stability and their joint TRIPP trade corridor. Both governments have issued condolences to Tehran while publicly urging an immediate cease‑fire and denying any...
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes against Iranian targets, prompting a massive retaliatory offensive by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC launched the largest attack in its history, striking more than 20...
Further to the prior post: A classic initial market reaction to this weekend’s eruption of military conflict in the Middle East: Oil has surged over 10%, the Dollar has strengthened, and Dow futures have opened down some 500 points. #economy #markets #oil...
Fintech investment in Asia‑Pacific fell to a decade low in 2025, totaling $9.3 billion across 763 transactions, down from $11.7 billion in 2024. Venture capital supplied $7.5 billion of that amount, while mergers and acquisitions contributed $1.7 billion and private equity under $0.1 billion. Funding...
The recent escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran highlights the market challenge of "unknown unknowns"—risks that defy traditional modeling. While investors have tools to hedge known shocks, the lack of definable parameters forces regulators to prioritize liquidity and...
Bettors on the prediction platform Polymarket earned roughly $1 million by wagering that the United States would strike Iran on February 28, 2026, the same day President Donald Trump announced the attack. Bloomberg identified six newly created accounts that bought shares at...
In this episode, host Melanie Schaefer and CraneShares senior investment strategist Derek Yan discuss how the concentration of U.S. mega‑cap stocks is driving investors to seek diversification in emerging markets (EM), especially as the dollar shows signs of weakening. Yan...
The Islamic Regime in Iran is recklessly firing missiles/drones at Jerusalem, despite well documented accuracy limitations in parts of its ballistic missile arsenal. Jerusalem is home to more than 1 million people and contains sacred sites of three religions: the...
If there is a real risk off move (& it is still an if) the structure of the inflows that have covered the US current account deficit will matter. Foreign buying of US equity surged in 2025, and no where more...
Japan’s largest maritime shipping conglomerate announced that the Iranian Navy has officially barred all vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The ban specifically targets energy cargoes, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas, effectively shutting the narrow waterway to...
India is set to restart the 1984 Jhelum River water‑management project in Kashmir, marking the first unilateral water‑flow decision since it suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan nine months ago. The revival follows a brief armed clash between the...
Japan’s healthcare system is rapidly expanding multilingual services as inbound tourism surges, with 2,500 hospitals and clinics now listed as foreign‑patient friendly—a 1.6‑fold rise over six years. The Hakuba International Clinic exemplifies the trend, handling 40‑50 walk‑ins daily, 80% of...
