The visualization & 3D rendering software market was valued at USD 952.4 million in 2016 and is estimated to reach USD 5,636.8 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 22.5% over the forecast period. The visualization & 3D rendering software market have witnessed significant developments in the past few years. The advancements in technology and increased digitalization have enabled to create lifelike images and realistic models. The implementation of visualization & 3D rendering software has contributed to lower costs and increase profits. This software provides innovative features such as active shade rendering, particle flow effects, rigging, baking, fiber-based effects, and others. Real-time rendering and the need for time & cost management are attributed to drive the market growth. Additionally, the software also provides consumer-friendly renderer interface which enhances the performance of enterprise over the forecast period.

The computer hardware market stabilised in 2017 after multiyear contraction in 2014-2016 when product trends hit performance as usage shifted towards a mobile-first market. There was a boom in AV spending over 2015-2017, especially for flat-panel TV sets, when the market was boosted by liberalisation of tariffs and retail. The handset segment sustained double-digit US dollar growth in each year of 2012-2017 as smartphone volumes soared, and handsets increased to almost 60% of total device sales by 2017.

We maintain our forecast for Vietnam’s real GDP growth to pick up slightly to 6.9% in 2018, from 6.8% in 2017, after the economy expanded by 7.1% y-o-y in H118. The robust growth momentum will continue to be underpinned by government efforts to liberalise trade and investment, as well as to boost the private sector’s foot print. However, risks are weighted to the downside. Vietnam recorded real GDP growth of 7.1% y-o-y in H118 (7.5% y-o-y in Q118), underpinned by broad-based expansion across all three major industry categories, but in particular, the manufacturing sector expanded by more than 10.0% y-o-y. This was in line with our expectations for the manufacturing sector to be an outperformer, and we maintain our forecast for headline growth to come in at 6.9% for 2018, up from 2017’s 6.8%. Efforts by the government to further liberalise trade and increase the foot print of the private sector in the economy should help to ensure resilient growth. However, we note that risks to our view are to the downside given rising social instability and deepening global trade tensions.

In this quarter's overview for the Americas region, we highlight implications of new environmental policies for the agribusiness industry. The future policy direction of the Trump Administration will have important consequences for agriculture, such as issues pertaining to both regional trade policy, bilateral trade policy, and state-level marijuana initiatives. The use of 'big data' will become more prominent in the coming years, while the region’s sugar sector will create opportunities in renewable fuel generation.

The chemicals and petrochemicals industry in Ukraine has traditionally been considered fundamental to the economy, owing to the role it plays in manufacturing intermediates. The government has gradually begun to implement financial reforms and privatisation legislation, allowing foreign participation in the industry. However, the country's civil war has effectively scuppered reform plans and stopped production at petrochemicals plants. Considerable structural changes are under way in the chemicals and petrochemicals industry. State-owned enterprises constitute less than one-fifth of the total number of petrochemical facilities, and account for about one third of the products.

Turkey's petrochemicals industry saw solid growth in 2017 with chemicals up 4.5% y-o-y and rubber and plastic growing 6.0%. This was higher than growth of 3% and 5% that we had anticipated in the previous quarterly report. Growth was helped by a low base in 2016 as well as solid local market demand. While an increase in refinery capacity should have a positive impact in 2018, the rate of growth is likely to slow due to capacity constraints. In 2017, Turkey's organic chemicals exports rose 44.5% y-o-y to USD0.66bn while primary plastics exports grew 23.7% to USD1.14bn. Over the same period, organic chemicals imports rose 24.5% to USD5.25bn and primary plastics imports rose 16.8% to USD10.16bn. While import growth was slower than exports, the country's petrochemicals trade deficit grew with organic chemicals up 62.0% to USD4.59bn and primary plastics up 53.5% to USD9.02bn.

Thailand's tourism industry is one of the best developed in the world and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular. The growth prospects of the market are exceptionally bright with the country have firmly established itself as a premier tourism destination catering to all types of travellers in all budget categories. With very strong growth potential and a long-standing reputation, the tourism industry in Thailand is well developed with a resilient reputation. The hotel market is diverse and competitive, particularly in the most established destinations, including Phuket and Bangkok. Thailand continues to attract investor interest with hotel developers drawn by rising visitor numbers and a growing list of new and established tourist sites.

Road freight will continue as the overwhelmingly dominant freight mode in Thailand over the medium term, accounting for 87.89% of the overall freight mix by the end of 2022. Inland waterways will be the second-most utilised freight mode in Thailand across the medium term, accounting for 9.39% of the total freight mix in 2022. Rail freight is also important, particularly for the country's heavy industries, but infrastructure capacity limitations mean that rail usage only accounts for just over 2.0% of the total freight mix. Air freight’s proportion will remain negligible over the forecast period. A relaxation of rules and regulations relating to exports from Thailand should improve the ease of trade in Thailand, which should translate into smoother logistics processes in the country going forward.

Tanzania's pharmaceutical market is among the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, Tanzania's pharmaceutical market was valued at TZS1.11trn (USD496mn), or 1.0% of GDP, with per-capita drug expenditure at just under USD9. This is fairly modest in global terms and even by regional standards. Due to low purchasing power, generic drugs comprise the majority of Tanzania's pharmaceuticals market, providing opportunities for companies focused on off-patent drugs. Patented drugs only hold a small market share as low per-capita drug expenditure continues to limit the capacity of most of the population to purchase higher-priced medication. Self-medication is prevalent in Tanzania, making the OTC medicine market an attractive prospect. Pharmaceutical sales accounted 26% of health expenditure.

Latest market and regulatory data suggests that the mobile market lost around 272,000 subscribers in 2017 before losing another 19,000 subscriptions in Q118. The mobile market ended March 2018 with an estimated total of 28.638mn subscribers, representing an y-o-y contraction of 0.7%. In late October 2017, the National Communications Commission (NCC) held an auction for six blocks on the 1,800MHz frequency band and 24 blocks of the 2,100MHz frequency band. Chunghwa Telecom, FarEastone, Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star Telecom all won spectrum, with Asia Pacific Telecom being the only mobile operator not to secure spectrum. The NCC is due to hold an auction for 5G frequencies in June 2019, although it recently stated that it is wary of allocating spectrum for operator trials, and prefers adopting a wait-and-see" approach. Upgrades to wireline (cable TV, xDSL, FTTH) facilitate improved delivery of bandwidth-intensive multi-play services, particularly premium TV services as well as connected home solutions.