East Timor Ends First Decade Fighting Oil Curse as Fund Grows
This article is for subscribers only.
The Southeast Asian nation of East Timor celebrates 10 years of independence tomorrow night facing a challenge that has eluded emerging economies across the world: How to stop oil wealth wrecking your economy.
After a decade of contract delays, deadlocked oilfield negotiations with Woodside Petroleum Ltd. and a political crisis that almost precipitated civil war, East Timor has moved from the poorest country in Asia, dependent entirely on international aid, to one with a $10 billion resources fund and almost entirely dependent on oil.