The Indian metal processing industry is dominated by a small number of large, mostly private, domestic companies. Most Indian metal companies operate globally, and international competition means they must be large enough to achieve economies of scale. Refined lead and zinc production is monopolised by one privately-held company. Most Indian metal processing companies are verticallyintegrated in a sense that they have captive mines as well as power plants. A notable exception is the copper segment in which 98% of total production is based on imported copper concentrate, and only state-owned company Hindustan Copper uses for its production resources from its captive mines.

The pharmaceutical market in the Czech Republic is strongly competitive with numerous foreign companies. There were 90 active companies in 2017, up from 80 in 2014. Foreign players dominate the market due to the high costs related to drug production, especially that of patented drugs. The pharmaceutical industry is among the sectors with high R&D costs, which accounted for about 15%- 20% of the annual revenues of the sector, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

China’s oil and gas sector has been dominated by three state-owned enterprise groups – China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) – for decades. The three majors, all engaging in oil and gas production, have predominant positions in different subsegments, with CNPC mainly focusing on onshore exploration and extraction, Sinopec Group excelling at refining and petrochemicals, and CNOOC in charge of offshore oil and gas assets. In response to the government’s call for SOE reform in the 1990s, the three giants established their own listed arms, restructured business units for better asset integration, and introduced market entities to participate in oil field management. The Chinese government has also encouraged independent domestic players as well as foreign companies to enter the sector.

China’s environmental protection sector contains three major subsectors, namely waste water treatment, solid waste treatment and recycling, and air pollution control. Besides some government guidance on the direction of development, the sector is basically market-driven. Due to the slow technological progress resulting in low entry barriers, the sector accommodates market players of all scales. However, to carry out long-term comprehensive environmental protection projects, which will become more common as the government has taken to ecological improvement and pollution control as a whole, being large in size and financially well secure is a great advantage. According to data from the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry, enterprises with individual revenue of over RMB 100mn, accounting for only 11.6% of the total number of market players, generated over 90% of the market profits in 2017.

The coal mining industry in China has been undergoing an intense consolidation process, with many small inefficient businesses closing down, allowing the number of large coal enterprises to increase. Due to their extensive operating scale and big market shares, SOEs are the sector’s main revenue generators. In 2017, the country’s top five coal producers generated over 22% of the total revenue of the coal mining sector, up from the 15% share in 2016. The government industry reforms envisage further consolidation of China’s mining sector, which is likely to increase the M&A activity in the sector. In order to boost their profits across the value chain, coal producers are expected to further expand their presence in segments such as syngas, olefins and liquid fuels, as well as in the coal-tooil conversion.

Chile’s banking sector is highly concentrated, with the top five banks accounting for 77.2% and 77.8% of the outstanding loans and deposits, respectively, as of September 2018. However, compared to September 2017, when the five biggest players controlled 77.6% and 78.6% of total loans and deposits, the level of concentration has decreased slightly, mainly due to the rapid expansion of Canada’s Scotiabank. This has further propelled sector competition and the fight for market share amongst the largest banks. Moreover, the large underserved population in regions outside Santiago Metropolitan creates ample growth opportunities for both existing and new players.

Brazil’s mining sector features a high level of concentration, especially in respect of most metallic mining outputs, with most production in the hands of a small number of large firms with capital of mixed origins. Regulation is an important factor in the outlook for the sector, since the market is still adapting to the new dispositions of the Mining Code, approved in June 2018. Non-metallic mineral activity shows a more fragmented structure, due to the prominence of civil construction aggregates in sub-sector output. In these products it is a big advantage to be close to the consumer, which favours both small companies and local ones.

Brazil’s consumer goods and retail sector is fragmented, featuring intensifying competition by both domestic and foreign companies. In line with the economic recovery in the country that gained speed in 2018, several retailers announced major investment plans to expand their operations in fastgrowing retail channels, such as cash & carry and convenience stores; in fragmented product segments (e.g. pet food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals); and in regions with low penetration of modern retail formats. E-commerce – the fastest growing retail channel – was also at the centre of the investment strategies of both brick-and-mortar retailers and purely online retailers.

The 2015-2016 economic recession unleashed a restructuring process in Brazil’s chemical sector. Several debt-laden incumbent players, including state-run companies Petrobras and Vale scaled back investment plans and put up assets for sale to improve their financial situation. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized companies increased their market positions through organic growth and acquisitions. Additionally, with the uptick in the economy since 2017, a number of strategic foreign players have found opportunities to expand their positions in chemical segments with high growth prospects, such as thermoplastic resins, fertilisers, fibres, coatings and pharmaceuticals.

The favourable weather conditions in 2017 that led to a record crop season of soybean and maize impacted crop producers in a positive way. Both domestic and international crop sales registered an increase, generating higher revenues for farmers. More capital was invested in machinery, equipment and new technologies for monitoring and managing production. The increased supply, however, caused a fall in prices, especially of soybean and maize. Although this downward trend in prices affected farmers’ margins, it had a positive impact on livestock producers, due to cheaper feed inputs.