NEW ARTICLE: China Secures Gas Supply From Turkmenistan: Who's the True Winner?

December 2009

This article focuses on the launch of a new gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Several countries benefit from this pipeline while another one loses some of its monopoly over Central Asia's energy export routes. These events are leading to a shift of power worth paying attention to.

This article was syndicated and can be found online by typing the title into Google Search.

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NEW ARTICLE: Climate Change: Clean Coal, Nuclear Energy or Simply Energy Savings?

December 2009

This article goes over the strong push made in favor of Clean Goal, even  though the technology is far from fully operational. Attention is given to nuclear energy, which may be the best solution to promptly respond to raising electricity needs without generating CO2 emissions.   

This article was published by OilPrice. To view this article, please go to: www.OilPrice.com

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NEW ARTICLE: The Two Paths to Doing Business in Central Asia: Which Way to Go?

 

December 2009

Anyone interested in doing business in Central Asia will be confronted with two parallel worlds: the world of "this is how business is done here" and the world of "best business practices."This article elaborates on the challenges of doing business in Central Asia and on the importance of staying true to key principles such as transparency and accountability.   

This article was published by The Caspian Business Journal. To view this article, please go to: www.caspibiz.com

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Great Geopolitical Battle Over Energy Transit Routes

December 2009

This article explains the ongoing battle over energy transit routes by entangling the web of geopolitical interconnections between the different players to understand what ultimately is at stake for each player.  

This article was syndicated and can be found online by typing the title into Google Search.

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Growth Obstacles Facing Financial Outsourcing

November 2009

In a world of globalization, some countries that are losing their competitiveness and feeling that their national security is at stake are resorting to protectionism. This article focuses on the need to have outsourcing, such as financial outsourcing, to be seen as a positive development and stresses the need to establish safeguards to prevent defense mechanisms from being used such as protectionism. 

This article was published by the Chinese publication Global Outsourcing Resources. To view this article, please click here.

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Interdependence, Integration and Investment: The Ineluctable Need to Find New Emerging Oil Players

November 2009

This article elaborates on why oil is here to stay and on the world's on-going efforts to find new oil partners.    

This article was published by OilPrice. To view this article, please go to: www.OilPrice.com

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Tajikistan Strives for New Transparency

September/October 2009

This article on the Central Asian country of Tajikistan focuses on the latest developments in the economic sector and on the potential growing regional role it could play due to its close proximity to Afghanistan.   

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the September/October issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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Bulgaria: Batman Promises to Clean Up the Streets

 August/September 2009

This article focuses on the multiple reports that came out in August 2009 on Bulgaria and on the impact of the election of Boyko Borisov as Prime Minister who has pledged to fight corruption.   

This article was published in emeafinance magazine. To purchase the August/September issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.emeafinance.com

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Outsourcing: China's Competitive Edge Over Russia

July 2009

This article based on observations during trips to Wuhan, China and Tomsk, Russia focuses on what can be learned from China's relentless and coordinated efforts to become a global player, in this case in the outsourcing sector.   

This article was published on the Marchmont News website. To view this article, please go to: www.marchmontnews.com or download the Word version by clicking here.

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U.S Ex-Im Readies to Fight Downturn + Speaker Highlights: Oil and Sub-Saharan Africa

May/June 2009

This article covers some of the highlights on the U.S. Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference, with a specific focus on a discussion on opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa.   

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the May-June issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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Azerbaijan: Firing Up for the Recovery

 April-May 2009

This article, which incorporates feedback from the chairmen of the main banks of Azerbaijan, elaborates on how Azerbaijan and its banking sector have manages to sail through the present storm fairly unscared  at a time when many countries are in financial turmoil. 

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in emeafinance magazine. To purchase the April/May issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.emeafinance.com

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A Fresh Start for U.S.-Russia Trade

March-April 2009

This article is a conversation with Ed Verona, President and CEO of the Washington DC-based U.S.-Russia Business Council (USRBC) on how trade has been affected by the downturn of Russian fortunes and on the present and future opportunities the Russian market has to offer.

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the March-April issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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Russia/Kazakhstan/Ukraine: Setting it Straight

January-February 2009

This article is an interview of three financial experts, each residing in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, focusing on the impact of the financial crisis in these three countries. Going beyond the usual headlines, they explain how they see the situation from their own on-the-ground experience.

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the January-February issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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 Can Russia's Regions Save the Day? and 2009: Russia Needs to Watch the Bumps 

 

January 2009

Read the full articles in PDF format by clicking here.

These articles were published in the Marchmont Investment Guide: 2008 Year End Review. To view additional reports on Russia's regions, please go to: www.marchmontnews.com

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Ukraine: The European Giant

September-October 2008

This article describes the potential of Ukraine in light of its WTO accession, EU Partnership and Euro 2012. It also highlights the challenges posed by constant political infighting and the desire to work more closely with the West while not jeopardizing its relations with its influential Russian neighbor.

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the September-October issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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Kazakhstan: The New Frontier 

 July-August 2008

This article  focuses on the lesser known country of Kazakhstan  but which has achieved  an incredible transformation since its independence in 1991. The article is followed by an interview with H.E. Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States.

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the July-August issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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Calm Horizons in Russia?

 May-June 2008

This article addresses the issue of risk perception and reality in Russia by looking into the political and business climate. 

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here.

This article was published in Global Trade Review magazine. To purchase the May-June issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.gtreview.com

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 Russian Regions: Going East All the Way

September 2007

Philip de Leon focuses on the potential of Russia's regions in Trade Finance Magazine.

Read the full article in PDF format by clicking here

This article was published in Trade Finance magazine. To purchase the September issue or to subscribe, please go to: www.tradefinancemagazine.com 

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Tajikistan Making Strides

August 2006

Small and mountainous, with a population of approximately 7 million, Tajikistan sits between the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan to the north and west, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. It has long been a lesser-known country of Central Asia, overshadowed by regional political and social upheavals and the focus on its neighbors’ oil and gas resources. However, recent developments, including investments that demonstrate confidence in the country’s economy and political stability, have laid the groundwork for Tajikistan to become a more active player in the region. These developments include infrastructure and other improvements that make the country easier to access for U.S. businesspeople, as well as new commercial projects and prospects. 

 Read the full article by clicking here

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2004 Survey: Update on Financing Deals in Eurasia

October 2004

Weak banking systems and underdeveloped financing environments in Eurasia create problems for U.S. companies trying to conduct trade transactions and conclude investments deals. In 2003, BISNIS representatives in Eurasia conducted a unique survey on how deals are financed in Eurasia and found that the lack of available financing is a major hurdle to the development of trade with Eurasian companies. The goal of the 2003 survey was to help U.S. exporters gain an understanding of from where financing could come and to whom it could go. In 2004, BISNIS conducted a new Eurasia Finance Survey to check on progress, look at new trends, address the issues of consumer credit and credit history, and widen the survey by including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Overall, the 2004 Survey shows that improvements have taken place in financing deals in Eurasia, but the speed of change is uneven across the region and many obstacles to financing deals remain.

Read the full article by clicking here

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Tajikistan Open for Business

July 2003

For several years, Tajikistan remained in the shadow of its larger, stabler, oil- and gas-rich neighbors in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. A 1992–1997 civil war and later recovery and reconstruction, combined with the absence of a Tajik embassy in the United States and the temporary movement of the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan to Kazakhstan, complicated direct contacts between the United States and Tajik officials and entities. However, recent events, including the long-awaited opening of the embassy of Tajikistan in Washington, D.C., are paving the way to increased exchanges and collaboration with a country that has demonstrated a strong interest in developing a long-term strategic partnership with the United States. 

 Read the full article by clicking here

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Fostering business through sister cities relationships

July 2002
 
U.S. companies interested in pursuing economic and business opportunities in Eurasia might want to consider capitalizing on existing relationships with this region that have started close to home. One such relationship is that of a sister city, county, or state, which is a broad-based, officially approved, long-term partnership between two communities, counties, or states in two countries, for example, Seattle, Wash., and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, or the state of Iowa and the Cherkassy region of Ukraine. Hundreds of such relationships have already been established and have created numerous contacts, cross-cultural experience, and abundant goodwill between communities in the United States and Eurasia. Great examples of friendship generated through these programs include residents of Duluth, Minn., sending small amounts of money to and corresponding with orphans in Petrozavodsk, Russia; and the city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, donating an original teahouse to the people of Boulder, Colo., so that they could gather in an authentic Tajik environment.

Read the full article by clicking here