The mix of EV and internal combustion engine related investments in China in our latest investment round-up highlights the need for automakers to fulfil current demand while also preparing for the industry's future. In Pakistan, Al-Futtaim Group's plan to assemble Renault vehicles in the country continues to build on the growing market diversity theme identified in Q118's project round-up. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

Food security and environmental concerns are driving change in the Asian agribusiness sector, with agricultural giants such as China and India modernising their production complexes by rationalising support policies and addressing excessive use of inputs. Australia and China will lead in the race to integrate IoT technology in their agribusiness sectors, while frontier markets in the Mekong struggle to improve traceability and quality control systems. Meanwhile, consumer preferences will be affected by dietary shifts and the region will see considerable uncertainty owing to China’s ongoing trade dispute with the US.

Chile privatised its electricity sector in the 1980s, and all generation, transmission and distribution activity is now in private hands. The National Energy Commission (Comisión Nacional de Energía, CNE) is largely responsible for the state regulation of the power sector, along with the Ministry of Energy. The government agencies in charge of governing and regulating Chile's electricity sector include: The National Energy Commission (CNE), which is in charge of devising the long-term development strategy for the power sector and determining the tariffs for the market's regulated clients. As per a law implemented at the end of January 2015, power purchase agreements (PPAs) to supply electricity to Chilean distributors (the regulated market) are auctioned by the CNE rather than by the distributors themselves. This means that the government is now responsible for the results of the long-term energy auctions, while distributors have only an administrative role.

Investment in Mexico's supply chain will enable the country's manufacturing sector to become less reliant on imported parts as trade uncertainty, such as the ongoing renegotiation of NAFTA, poses a threat to manufacturing. The large concentration of investments around Nuevo Leon and Coahuila suggests that this is where a supply chain hub is developing. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

A high degree of government intervention and an opaque business environment will erode Chad's attractiveness to foreign investors. Despite this, the 2010 production sharing agreements are reasonable in their proposals and clear in their framework.

Investment in Mexico's supply chain will enable the country's manufacturing sector to become less reliant on imported parts as trade uncertainty, such as the ongoing renegotiation of NAFTA, poses a threat to manufacturing. The large concentration of investments around Nuevo Leon and Coahuila suggests that this is where a supply chain hub is developing. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

A large tourism sector fuels consumption in a number of food and drink sectors, including soft and alcoholic drinks. Across the region, any fluctuations in tourism levels have a noticeable impact on the premium alcoholic drinks sector, where the majority of consumption can be attributed to affluent tourists. In the food sector, segments that are particularly reliant on the tourist dollar include convenience and brand-name products from the US.

Increasing enhanced oil recovery operations by upstream players, in order to maintain their production levels, are expected to boost the market demand. Increasing use of carbon dioxide in application industries such as refrigeration, food & beverages, chemical wholesaling, and pharmaceuticals is projected to propel the market growth.

Brunei has plans to expand exploration and production in the upstream sector. For the downstream sector, the new refinery and petrochemical complex at Pulau Muara Besar will support the further diversification of Brunei's economy from crude oil exports, creating new revenue streams from more specialised products.

Growing awareness among people regarding esthetics has led to a high growth of breast implants market. These days, most of the people are highly concerned about their physical appearance. Recent studies have indicated that along with physical appearance, breast augmentation have helped women in boosting their self-esteem. Thus, high demand for these surgical procedures has resulted in enhanced growth of breast implants market.