Colombia’s tourism and leisure sector features a high level of competition. Regarding the sector as a whole, in 2018, the top ten companies accounted for about 20.8% of total revenues, according to EMIS Insights estimates. The evolution of competition is largely similar across the different segments, the level of concentration still being low but progressively increasing over time. In the case of hotels and accommodation, the three largest companies accounted for a combined 13.5% share of all sales in 2018, up from 13.2% in 2014. Meanwhile in the travel agencies and tour operators segment, the three most significant players had a combined 18.4% share in 2018, up from 12.8% in 2014.

The Colombian insurance sector is in the eye of foreign investors due to its strong fundamentals and positive regulations. According to the EMIS DealWatch database, between January 2015 and March 2019, the Colombian insurance sector saw a total of 15 M&A deals. In 2018, the most relevant deal was the acquisition of South African QBE Insurance Group’s Latin American operations in February by Zurich Insurance Group, for USD 409mn. New players also enter the sector through greenfield developments, such as BMI Seguros, the local subsidiary of US-based insurance company BMI, which launched its operations in the life segment in May 2018. However, as local incumbents dominate the industry, international companies are usually starting from a reduced market position, targeting niche segments not yet exploited by the main players. In 2018, mid-sized foreign companies with a market share lower than 4% as of the end of the year reported the highest growth rate in terms of written premiums across both the life and non-life segments. In spite of this positive performance, local companies still have the advantage of their long-standing associations with the largest banks and financial conglomerates in Colombia. As a result, foreign companies had a share of only 32% of written premiums in 2018, and the sector remained highly concentrated, with the main three players, all local companies, accounting for 40% of written premiums in 2018.

The level of competition in Colombia’s retail trade sector is high. Regarding the sector as a whole, in 2017, the top ten companies accounted for 36.7% of the sector’s revenues. However, there are significant differences among segments. In the case of supermarkets, the three largest chains had a combined share of 14.3% in total sales in 2017, whereas in department stores, the three largest retailers had a combined 90.5% share. In the shopping centre segment, the three leading players had just a 22.1% share in the total number of centres at the end of 2018, which points to a fragmented and competitive market.

In 2017, China’s coal mining sector registered an improved y/y performance, which was attributed to a number of factors such as the favourable domestic economic conditions and the ongoing supply-side reform and coal industry consolidation, accompanied by high coal prices. The government continued its efforts to “clean up” the coal sector and optimise its operating efficiency through a number of measures. The main stress was put on the restructuring of SOEs, elimination of small, outdated and inefficient production facilities, as well as decreasing the excess coal production capacity. The stronger performance of China’s coal sector in 2017 was also a result of the improved balance between coal supply and demand on the domestic market, the increased power consumption and the y/y recovery of thermal power generation. The above factors contributed to improved production efficiency and higher profitability of the coal mining businesses. The revenue of coal mining enterprises rose from RMB 2,233bn in 2016 to RMB 2,544bn in 2017, while the net profit hiked from RMB 116bn to RMB 296bn. The number of coal mining enterprises rose to 5,111, up from 5,049 units in 2016.

The Chinese beverage manufacturing subsector’s revenue registered a significant drop of 7.8% y/y in 2017, mainly due to decreased sales of low-end products. At end-December 2017, the number of lossmaking enterprises in the beverage subsector jumped by 18.1% to 666. This was 9.9% of the total number of beverage producers, up from 8.1% at the same time of 2016. The total losses of these lossmaking companies in 2017 was RMB 7.9bn – a rise of 4.5% y/y.

Competition in Brazil’s transportation sector is likely to face several changes in the near future. In the case of air transportation, the sanctioning of foreign capital shares in local carriers may boost investment in the sector. As of March 2019, however, the bill is under congressional approval in the Senate and will still require regulatory specifics to genuinely attract investment. President Bolsonaro’s economic staff seem keen to formalise the sanctions. Road cargo transportation will also experience changes once freight-price control reaches a trading status. As of January 2019, there's a legal battle of injunctions surrounding the minimum pricing of freight contracts. The more legal warfare there is in road cargo, however, the more opportunity for freight alternatives such as waterway cargo carriers, since Brazil has more than 21,000 km of navigable inland waterways.

The 2015-2016 economic recession – combined with several corruption investigations involving major construction companies – triggered a restructuring process in Brazil’s real estate sector, marked by increasing participation of small and medium-sized players. Moreover, several debt-laden companies opted to scale back operations by selling non-core assets, allowing new players to enter the market at bargain prices. Additionally, the revival of foreign investor interest since end-2017, supported by a general economic uptick and higher demand for both residential and commercial real estate, suggests that competition in the sector will continue to intensify.

Since the first highway privatisations in the mid-1990s, Brazil has been liberalising its transport infrastructure sector through concessions and public-private partnerships. This, coupled with a sharp decline in public investment since 2014 amid the country’s economic recession and political turmoil, resulted in private investment surpassing public in 2014, remaining above ever since. Given the need for substantial initial investment and previous nationalistic regulations, the private sector is still limited to a small number of large local companies, despite the government's efforts to increase foreign player participation since 2016.

Although the oil & gas sector in Argentina features high levels of concentration, there are plenty of opportunities for new market entrants, through either acquisitions, auctions for conventional and offshore exploration concessions or brownfield investments. In addition, the liberalisation policy of the government of president Macri, together with the promissory reserves of the Vaca Muerta area, have attracted huge investment to the unconventional hydrocarbons exploration business.

In China, companion animals, like dogs, cats and horses are important for the Chinese population. The Chinese companion health market is growing due to the factors, like rising popularity of pet ownership in China and also because of introduction of healthcare innovations converging with diverse therapeutic indications.