Browsing: Geopolitics
Trade policy, sanctions, supply chains, and international relations affecting business strategy
China Plus One has moved from hedging strategy to defining principle of global supply chain design. With US tariffs hitting Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, companies face a more comprehensive challenge — building resilience across many geographies.
The Middle East’s Economic Diversification: Beyond Oil, Into Technology, Finance, and Tourism
By Naomi Chan
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and other Gulf states are deploying trillions in the most ambitious economic diversification programmes ever attempted. The Middle East has moved from peripheral market to strategically important one.
Africa’s Business Boom: The Continent That Every Multinational Is Beginning to Take Seriously
By Naomi Chan
Africa’s working-age population will exceed China’s by 2030. The continent’s technology adoption, growing middle class, and untapped markets make it one of the most consequential business opportunities of the coming decades.
Doing Business in the Age of Sanctions: A Practical Guide to Navigating Geopolitical Risk
By Naomi Chan
Sanctions have moved from the periphery of international business to the centre. For any company with global operations, compliance is no longer back-office — it’s a board-level strategic concern.
Supply Chain Sovereignty: Why Local-for-Local Manufacturing Is Becoming a Strategic Imperative
By Naomi Chan
Trade disruption, pandemic-era supply failures, and geopolitical fragmentation have made local-for-local manufacturing a strategic priority. Understanding what sovereignty investment actually costs — and delivers — is now essential.
Strait of Hormuz and the Energy Shock Doctrine: What the Middle East Standoff Means for Global Energy Prices
By Naomi Chan
The Strait of Hormuz carries 20% of global oil and all of Qatar’s LNG. Iran’s April 2026 tanker seizure pushed Brent above $105. The risk is permanent — and most businesses aren’t managing it.
The Taiwan Chokepoint: How Geopolitical Risk in the Strait Has Become Every Manufacturer’s Problem
By Naomi Chan
The Taiwan Strait carries 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductor production past a credible military threat. Every manufacturer has exposure to what happens there — most don’t yet manage it explicitly.
India’s Manufacturing Moment — or Mirage? A Hard Look at the Challenges Behind the Headlines
By Naomi Chan
India is being positioned as the world’s next manufacturing hub. The headline narrative is bullish. The granular reality — on infrastructure, skills, and regulation — is more complicated. A hard look.
The Section 301 Salvo: Why America Targeting 16 Countries at Once Is the Most Disruptive Trade Policy in a Generation
By Naomi Chan
The US has deployed Section 301 tariffs against 16 countries at once — the broadest trade action in history. For multinationals managing supply chains and pricing, the rules have fundamentally changed.
AI sovereignty has moved from the margins of technology policy into the boardroom agenda of every serious multinational. With 93 per cent of global executives calling it mission-critical and at least 34 countries enacting data localisation rules, the question is no longer whether to build a sovereign AI strategy — but how fast.