Regular readers of this website will recall that we coined the acronym BLANKs in 2008 to refer to a group of extreme frontier market economies in Asia which have considerable development potential, but are being constrained by highly unusual or adverse political or geopolitical conditions. These are Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Afghanistan, and North Korea. All… [Read more]
A couple of years ago, I coined the acronym BLANKs to describe a group of Asian economies which have considerable development potential, but are being constrained by highly esoteric political or geopolitical problems. The countries in question are Burma (officially called Myanmar), Laos, Afghanistan, and North Korea. At the time, I cautioned that despite their… [Read more]
Last year, I came up with a new acronym to describe a group of economies in Asia that exists largely on the margins of the world – BLANKs (Burma, Laos, Afghanistan, and North Korea). Given their disconnectedness from global investment flows and trade, surely they will not be affected by the current recession? Actually, no…. [Read more]