The construction sector revenue in GCC has increased over the few years. With the increasing urban and rural population housing needs and rapid diversification of region’s business from the in-house giant oil and gas industry to tourism and other sectors, the demand for construction activities in the region for residential, industrial, and commercial buildings has picked pace since the recent past. It is expected that the GCC region will spend about USD 480 billion over the next four years, out of which, more than 60% is allocated for infrastructure projects. Although oil and gas sector remains the major contributor for the GCC’s GDP, the economic policies and vision of these countries is aimed toward economic diversification.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) refers to mutations found at a specific locus or single base pair mutation containing two alleles. SNPs aid in understanding the correlations between the genotype and behavior indicated by all living organisms.  It involves the measurement of variations that commonly occur in individuals. Unlike conventional time-consuming, expensive, and labor- extensive detection technologies, SNP technology is highly efficient, relatively inexpensive, and automated. The market size can be evaluated by collating the revenue generated from various segments and by studying the usage of the products across various end-user industries, along with the costs associated with them.

Turkey boasts one of the world’s highest per capita bread-consumption figures. Bread is the staple food for Turks, who consume it at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rising health awareness and changing lifestyles have supported a shift to protein-based diets in major cities, but Ekmek – the traditional soft white bread – continues to account for 90% of the bread market. The production of bread, fresh pastry goods and cakes and the manufacture of grain mill products are the most fragmented segments of the Turkish food market. There are some 35,000 operating bakeries, of which just 1% are industrial bakeries, which account for 9% of the market. Consumers prefer their bread fresh, purchased from bread kiosks, little stores and publicly-owned bakeries.

Turkey’s crop production grew at a CAGR of 0.2% over the 2014-2018 period with harvest peaking to an all-time high of 68.4mn tonnes in 2017. In 2018, volumes decreased, reflecting a decline in cereals, which account for over half of total crop production. Other main crops include sugar beets, potatoes and oil seeds. Under the current subsidy programme called the National Agricultural Project, the country is divided into 941 agricultural basins based on climate and soil. Those eligible for support will be farmers who grow crops that are on the subsidised list for the specific basin, as only wheat and forage crops will be subsidised in every basin.

Road freight dominated Thailand’s freight forwarding market in 2017, thanks to the country’s large fleet of vehicles, its strong cross-border trade with ASEAN countries, and its robust national network of strategically located warehouses and distribution centres. The sea freight segment ranked second, driven by increasing trade activities with FTA signatory countries. The Ports of Laem Chabang and Bangkok are the leading seaports of Thailand, handling most of the sea freight volume and offering services like cargo handling, tallying, and warehousing. International freight forwarding accounted for most of the revenues of Thailand’s freight forwarding market in 2017. The passenger segment is supported by Thailand’s booming tourism industry, which mostly relies on air transport on both international and domestic routes. Railway dominates urban mass transit in Bangkok.

Southeast Asia* is an important player in the hydrocarbon industry, being home to a tenth of the world’s natural gas reserves and nearly 3% of the global oil reserves. The region’s share in global natural gas production stood at 16.5% in 2017, slightly up from 16.3% in the previous year, according to data published in the 2018 edition of BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Southeast Asia’s contribution to the global oil production was smaller, with the region accounting for a share of 8.5% in 2017, down from 8.7% in 2016

With close to 280,000 construction and more than 334,000 real estate companies, the Russian real estate and construction market is highly competitive and fragmented. The private sector dominates the market across all segments but many are key providers of construction services for large state- owned companies, such as gas giant Gazprom. The bulk of the companies from the sector operate in the regions of Moscow and St Petersburg, where urbanisation rates are the highest in Russia. According to the EMIS Company Database, the largest 20 construction companies accounted for 19% of overall sector revenues in 2017, while the 20 largest real estate companies had a combined share in total sector revenues of 10%.

The Philippines F&B sector is competitive despite its duality – most of the operating companies are small, but at the same time large corporations have significant market shares. Domestic and foreign producers compete to capture more of the growing domestic demand. Some subsectors such as beer, carbonated drinks, dairy products, and processed fruits and vegetables, are characterised by significant concentration, while others such as bottled water and bakery, are more fragmented.

The agriculture sector in the Philippines is market-oriented, but a few regulated pricing mechanisms are in place to protect segments of strategic importance for the country. Several categories such as wheat, meat, and dairy rely heavily on imports, while a significant proportion of domestic coconut and fruit production is exported. Philippine agriculture has suffered from underinvestment, due to policy distortions, low sector efficiency, and the country’s proneness to natural disasters. The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June 2016, has pledged to step up efforts to upgrade the Philippines’ infrastructure, reform taxation, eliminate agricultural smuggling and support farmers to produce higher value-added products.

The Malaysian agriculture sector is highly focused on a few cash crops, notably oil palm and rubber. Besides the oil palm plantations industry, the Malaysian agriculture sector is quite fragmented. Leading palm oil companies are focusing on investing in biotechnology and developing high yielding variety seeds. The Malaysian government is pursuing liberalisation of the sugar industry, which will pose challenges to domestic sugar producers. With potential decline in retail price, many incumbent sugar manufacturing companies are now exploring in the international markets. With large and increasing demand for meat from livestock in Malaysia, halal food manufacturers are looking to increase production to lock in opportunities in the domestic market as well as seeking assistance from the government to expand their markets overseas.