Global Land Grab:
The New World Order of The Shadow Market
11 October, 2010 | By Gilbert Mercier
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric J. Weiner is a serious writer and journalist who has contributed
for publications such as Dow Jones Newwires, the Wall Street
Journal and the Los Angeles Times. His new book, “The Shadow
Market: How a Group of Wealthy Nations and Powerful
Investors Secretly Dominate the World” sounds a lot like a line
New World Order conspiracy theorists would used. However,
Weiner articulates his claims in a completely rational and very
documented way.
Weiner demonstrates, in his book, that the strongest force in global
commerce today is not the US Federal Reserve, not the
international banks, not the governments of the G7 countries, and
not the European Union. Instead, it is the multi-trillion-dollar
network of super-rich, secretive and largely unregulated investment
entities- namely foreign sovereign wealth funds, government-run
corporations, private equity funds, and hedge funds- that are quietly
buying up the world, in large valuable chunks.
Unlike Wall Street, or others world financial markets, the shadow
market does not have a physical headquarter. It does not have a
formal leadership either. Instead, it is composed of an ever shifting
global network where very large amount of money flows very fast,
and mixes with geopolitical power and long term policy objectives.
Needless to say, the national big players of the shadow market are
cash-rich nations such as China, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Saudi-Arabia,
Singapore and Norway.
The Great Recession is turning out to be a great advantage for the
shadow market, due to the lack of liquidity available in both the
United States and the European banking systems. The shadow
market big players are spending huge amount of cash, controlling
the capital market, and securing not only a massive amount of
shares in multinational corporations, but also huge tracts of farmland
and natural resources across the world.
Eric J. Weiner was interviewed yesterday by Bob Moon for the
public radio show Market Place. Moon asked Weiner to define the
shadow market, and what could be its geopolitical impact.
“What you have is countries that have digested the lesson of
the market, and that, is that you gain control over things and
you have a much greater opportunity to create the returns. So,
what you are seeing is massive land grabs going on in Africa
and other developing nations, because many of these rich
countries have concerns about their natural resources, and
about their food supply. They are basically going in, cutting
deals by offering them very low-interest loans or outright
giving them grants money, whatever it is, and they are in
effect, creating a new colonial system,” said Weiner.
Further in the interview, when asked about the role of China, one of
the biggest players in the shadow market, Weiner explained how the
shadow market is likely to alter our current geopolitical predicament.
“China builds allies with other countries that we would like
influence in. And it is not just China. For example, Saudi
Arabia owns a farm the size of the state of Connecticut in
Indonesia, and they are going to grow crops that are in demand
in Saudi-Arabia. This create a natural ally between Saudi-
Arabia and Indonesia in ways we can not even comprehend,
because we are not participating in this,” said Weiner.
To hear or read Weiner’s interview on Market Place click here.
Editor’s Note: Photograph by Gilbert Mercier.
The New World Order of The Shadow Market
11 October, 2010 | By Gilbert Mercier
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric J. Weiner is a serious writer and journalist who has contributed
for publications such as Dow Jones Newwires, the Wall Street
Journal and the Los Angeles Times. His new book, “The Shadow
Market: How a Group of Wealthy Nations and Powerful
Investors Secretly Dominate the World” sounds a lot like a line
New World Order conspiracy theorists would used. However,
Weiner articulates his claims in a completely rational and very
documented way.
Weiner demonstrates, in his book, that the strongest force in global
commerce today is not the US Federal Reserve, not the
international banks, not the governments of the G7 countries, and
not the European Union. Instead, it is the multi-trillion-dollar
network of super-rich, secretive and largely unregulated investment
entities- namely foreign sovereign wealth funds, government-run
corporations, private equity funds, and hedge funds- that are quietly
buying up the world, in large valuable chunks.
Unlike Wall Street, or others world financial markets, the shadow
market does not have a physical headquarter. It does not have a
formal leadership either. Instead, it is composed of an ever shifting
global network where very large amount of money flows very fast,
and mixes with geopolitical power and long term policy objectives.
Needless to say, the national big players of the shadow market are
cash-rich nations such as China, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Saudi-Arabia,
Singapore and Norway.
The Great Recession is turning out to be a great advantage for the
shadow market, due to the lack of liquidity available in both the
United States and the European banking systems. The shadow
market big players are spending huge amount of cash, controlling
the capital market, and securing not only a massive amount of
shares in multinational corporations, but also huge tracts of farmland
and natural resources across the world.
Eric J. Weiner was interviewed yesterday by Bob Moon for the
public radio show Market Place. Moon asked Weiner to define the
shadow market, and what could be its geopolitical impact.
“What you have is countries that have digested the lesson of
the market, and that, is that you gain control over things and
you have a much greater opportunity to create the returns. So,
what you are seeing is massive land grabs going on in Africa
and other developing nations, because many of these rich
countries have concerns about their natural resources, and
about their food supply. They are basically going in, cutting
deals by offering them very low-interest loans or outright
giving them grants money, whatever it is, and they are in
effect, creating a new colonial system,” said Weiner.
Further in the interview, when asked about the role of China, one of
the biggest players in the shadow market, Weiner explained how the
shadow market is likely to alter our current geopolitical predicament.
“China builds allies with other countries that we would like
influence in. And it is not just China. For example, Saudi
Arabia owns a farm the size of the state of Connecticut in
Indonesia, and they are going to grow crops that are in demand
in Saudi-Arabia. This create a natural ally between Saudi-
Arabia and Indonesia in ways we can not even comprehend,
because we are not participating in this,” said Weiner.
To hear or read Weiner’s interview on Market Place click here.
Editor’s Note: Photograph by Gilbert Mercier.
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