With a population of nearly 147mn people, Russia ranks the ninth most populous country and the largest by territory in the world. That alongside Russia’s favourable geographic position and the wealth of natural resources predetermine the central role the transportation sector plays in the country’s economic development. The sector generates some 6% of the GDP, employs 10% of the country’s workforce and attracts 13% of the fixed capital investments. Russia has the second largest railway network in the world. Nevertheless, road transportation is the preferred mode for carrying both passengers and freight.

In 2016 Poland’s healthcare expenditure grew by 4.5% y/y to PLN 119.27bn, representing 6.4% of the GDP. Public healthcare spending in Poland is one of the lowest compared to the EU average, which hovers around 6.5 % of GDP. The bulk of the expenditure comes from the public sources, which provided PLN 82.3bn, up 2.7% y/y, in 2016. Private healthcare expenditure came to PLN 37.01bn in 2016, up around 8% y/y. In 2016, licences to practise the medical profession were held by 145,000 doctors and 288,000 nurses.

Indonesia is the largest automotive market in the ASEAN region and the second largest motor vehicle manufacturer, after Thailand. In 2017, Indonesia’s automotive sector contributed about 2% to the country’s GDP and accounted for 4.2% of the total exports. The relatively poor motorisation rate, low labour costs and increasing middle class are the main drivers for expansion of the sector. Motorcycles and scooters are the most popular means of transport because of their cheaper price and lower maintenance costs. Their share in the overall vehicle output stood at 84% and made up 85% of all vehicle sales in 2017. Indonesia is self-sufficient in terms of motor vehicles – production volumes exceeded domestic sales by around half a million units in 2017. The main export markets are the neighbouring ASEAN countries.

The Czech Republic’s information and communication (ICT) sector generated a gross value added (GVA) of CZK 220.6bn in 2016, up by a real 1.9% y/y. The sector accounted for 4.6% of GDP in 2016, retaining its share in the period 2012-2016. The gross output of the ICT sector amounted to CZK 412.6bn or 8.6% of GDP in 2016. The sector employed 106,200 workers, accounting for 2.7% of the total employment in the country in 2016. The computer programming, consultancy and related activities subsector had the highest number of employees, accounting for 57.4% of the total employment in the sector. In respect to revenues and number of enterprises the subsector also has the highest share in the ICT sector. The mobile penetration was 117.7 subscribers per 100 inhabitants in 2016, lower than the European average of 118.2 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.

The computing market has witnessed significant developments in the past few years. Technological advancements and increased digitalization have enabled the generation of a large amount of IoT data. Cloud solutions process the data in a centralized location; however, the large amount of data leads to latency and delays. The implementation of edge computing solutions has facilitated in achieving higher operational efficiency by processing the data at the edge of the network, in turn, contributing to lower costs and increased profits. Additionally, the rise in smart devices such as smart vehicles, smartphones, and smart healthcare solutions, among others, has led to the growth of the edge computing market globally.

The automotive sector in Hungary plays an important role in the country’s economy and exports. In 2016, the transport equipment GVA represented a 4.5% share in the country’s GDP. In 2016, the transport equipment sector accounted for almost a quarter of the total industrial sales as top automotive manufacturers such as Suzuki, Audi, Daimler and Opel have established local production facilities. The bulk of the country’s automotive production, about 90%, goes to export markets, with passenger car exports accounting for 27% of the overall Hungarian exports in euro terms. In 2016, the country ranked 9th in the EU in terms of PC production with a 3.2% share, but at the same time had one of the lowest ownership rates with 313 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. The segment of new passenger cars has been growing at faster rates in recent years as economy recovered, unemployment went down and consumer income rose. As of August 2017, the automotive sector employed close to 168,000 people.

The Indian steel industry contributes around 2% of the country GDP and employs some 500,000 people directly and about 2mn indirectly. The Indian government sees the steel sector as strategically important and as a foundation for rapid industrial development. According to the Ministry of Steel, the steel industry has an output multiplier effect of nearly 1.4 on GDP, and an employment multiplier factor of 6.8. The sector has taken advantage of the country’s abundance of iron ore reserves, its cheap but qualified labour force, and government support policies. As a result, India is close to becoming the second-largest crude steel producer after China, outpacing Japan. In FY2017, India became a net exporter of iron and steel, in both volume and value terms, as local companies ramped up production.

The Data Center Power Market in Latin America witnessed a spurt in investments in 2017, with around 20 new data center projects covering more than 800,000 square feet of data center area and 125 MW of power capacity to be set up shortly. In terms of construction, greenfield and modular data center development are predicted to grow at a CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period. The major criteria to be considered by data center operators in Latin America to develop data centers would include strong fiber connectivity, reliable power supply, and demand from industries such as BFSI, Information Technology, and Healthcare.

Digital textile printing has come of age in recent decades. Digitization is reverberating throughout the process, the equipment, and the workflow of textile printing offering a plethora of benefits. The market has taken a generational leap with rapid improvements and technological advancements throughout the supply chain. The number of patents that are being registered is just the sign of the gravity of development that is taking place.

In 2017, the data center market in US added about 100 new data center facilities, covering about 10 million square feet of space and increasing power capacity by 1.2 GW. Major contributors to the market investment were colocation and cloud service providers. The colocation data center development contributed about 80% in 2017, with major investments identified in Southeastern and Southwestern regions across states such as Virginia and Texas. The investment by hyperscale operators was identified across the US, with many focussed on the mid-western and western data center market regions such as Iowa and Oregon.