In 2016 and 2017 the growth of the Indian economy slowed down noticeably, mostly as a result of two government initiatives. One was the withdrawal of high-value banknotes in November 2016, known as “demonetisation” or “DeMo”; and the other was the introduction, in July 2017, of the Goods and Services Tax, which replaced India’s cascading and complex taxation system and, in effect, created a pan-Indian single market for the first time since the nation’s independence in 1947. Real GDP growth in 2021 is expected to reach the high of 8.0% that the Indian economy registered back in 2015, after slow but steady annual increases. Public spending on infrastructure and stable domestic consumption will be the main growth drivers over the forecast period. India spent INR 60tn on infrastructure in the period from FY2007 and FY2017, and estimates it will need to invest some INR 50tn more over the five fiscal years starting on April 1, 2018. The upcoming general elections in 2019 might pose risks to the reform agenda of prime minister Narendra Modi’s government, but infrastructure will hardly be removed from the priority list, as there is a wide political consensus that India needs top-quality infrastructure to sustain its growth in future.

In 2015 the total expenditure on healthcare in Hungary came to HUF 2,406bn, up 6.34% y/y. Total healthcare expenditure reached 7.2% of Hungarian GDP, compared to 7.1% in 2014. Government schemes and compulsory health care accounted for 66.7% of all healthcare expenditure in 2015. The remaining share of Hungarian expenditure on healthcare came from voluntary health care payment schemes (29%) as well as household out-of-pocket payments (4.2%) in 2015. Per capita expenditure on healthcare increased from HUF 234,000 in 2014 to HUF 250,000 in 2015. In the period 2012-2015 private expenditure increased by 10.5%, while governmental spending grew by 16.58%.

down in 2016 and 2017, as the local automotive manufacturers implemented no expansion of their production capacities. In 2016, the production of transport equipment went up by 1.8% y/y to HUF 7.9tn and by another 1.8% during January-November 2017, compared to a 16.5% y/y rise in 2015 and above 20% y/y growth in 2013 and in 2014. However, the automotive production growth is expected to accelerate, mainly due to the capacity extension project of the local Mercedes-Benz plant which has intentions to build a second plant for production of passenger cars in the country by 2020. This will boost the local production capacity of the company by 80%.

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 study on flexible packaging market has been segmented based on raw material, application, and region in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (USD million) over a forecast period of seven years between 2015 and 2022. In terms of raw material, flexible packaging market has been divided into three major segments including paper, aluminum foil, bioplastics and plastics. The plastic segment includes PVC and PE wherein bioplastics include PLA. In terms of application, the market is divided into four major segments including food & beverages, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and others. The others segment includes pet food and tobacco.

The life sciences BPO market is segmented on the basis of services and geography. Services segments analyzed in this report include pharmaceutical outsourcing, medical device outsourcing, contract sales & marketing outsourcing, and others. In addition, geographically, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA.

LPG market has been broadly segmented into three categories including source, application, and region. On the basis of source, LPG can be segmented into refinery, associated gas, and non-associated gas. On the basis of application, LPG has been segmented into residential/commercial, chemical, industrial, auto fuel, and refinery.

The Montenegrin telecommunications market is well developed but small and highly saturated in the case of mobile communications. The wireline market continues to benefit from modernisation, with next-generation access networks (NGANs) facilitating the provision of complex, multi-service packages for which operators can charge a premium. However, voice usage is on the decline and the broadband market's expansion potential is hampered by low consumer spending power. The broadband services sector is a little more developed, but dependence on the ageing WiMAX technology also hampers private sector development.

Limited competition, difficult geographical terrain and a low income population have histroically combined to slow the rate of mobile growth in the market, particularly in comparison to other markets. The introduction of a third mobile operator has given some fresh impetus to the market and may drive growth prospects further. Nevertheless, the market remains at a nascent stage of development. We believe there is significant scope for growth here in organic subscriber numbers over the next few years and in terms of 3G/4G and advanced data uptake. The two dominant players, Ncell and the Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited have carved a significant piece of the market for themselves. Challenging their powers in the market will require significant expertise, technological innovation and price competition.