This market report provides a comprehensive overview of the mobile network operator and MVNO telecom market across the various economies of Asia. The list of operators ranges from the giant China Mobile with more than 850 million subscribers right through to a number of much smaller operators with only a few thousand subscribers each. And of course there are the mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

The focus of this report is on the operators within their individual national markets. In addition to these individual operators there are those companies such as SingTel, Vodafone, and Axiata (formerly Telekom Malaysia International) that have built a substantial presence around the Asian region beyond their own domestic market through their shareholdings in operators in multiple other markets. While this aspect of the regional operations is not discussed in any detail, it is mentioned in passing in the relevant country reviews.

Uncertainty has a cycle, like everything else, which threatened to peak in 2016, as geopolitical risk took centre-stage in shaping the fortunes of global corporates. Our view: the net effects of anti-trade sentiment from growing nationalism, protectionism, and Brexit are likely to outweigh greater hope for fiscal stimulus in corporates’ investment planning.An overall stable outlook for corporate ratings in 2017 also fails to show persisting high levels of regional disparity. Net Negative Outlooks and Watches improved strongly in the U.S, but Latin American corporates are facing increasingly challenging conditions and a weakening credit trend with Negative Outlooks comprising 31% of our international rating portfolio. The slow recovery from the recession in Brazil, weak domestic growth rates in Chile, tax reforms in Colombia, and economic uncertainty in Mexico will continue to pressure ratings over the next 12 to 18 months.

The PPE market in the US is mature and is driven by increasing R&D innovation.With high market penetration in over 80% of the products categories, vendors in the market are focusing on product enhancements through R&D. The R&D expenditure of MSA Safety grew by 5.88% in 2015 compared to 2013. In June 2016, DuPont announced the development of the next generation Tensylon, which is a polyethylene material with ultra-high molecular weight and high performance.Tensylon is used in hard armor PPE for law enforcement and military applications.

This expansion of R&D by DuPont is under contract with the US army. Smart PPE has become a preferred choice for end-user industries such as emergency medical services, mining, and oil and gas, due to improved safety management features and ease of use. New smart PPE products available in the market offer integrated features such as Bluetooth, radio frequency identification (RFID), and near field communication (NFC) to enhance communication. So, the revenue contribution of smart PPE is expected to increase to 25% by 2020.

The point of sale (POS) terminals market in Europe is driven by the small and medium enterprises segment and the replacement of non-Europay, MasterCard,and Visa (non-EMV) POS terminals with EMV POS terminals by the existing endusers. As of 2015, 65.85% of POS terminals were used at fixed terminals, which will decline to 56.74% by 2020 due to the increasing demand for mobile POS terminals.The demand for value-added services such as inventory management, analytics,and sales tools integrated with POS terminals is growing. These services will be a major source of revenue for vendors during the forecast period.Contactless payment systems are gaining traction in the POS terminals market in Europe. The overall payment card transactions based on near-field communication (NFC) will increase from 5.59% in 2015 to 12.05% in 2020.

BMI View: Mexico will remain the second largest medical device market, and the leading medical device importer, exporter and producer in Latin America. Its status as the leading medical device exporter to the US, heightened by intensive maquiladora activities directed to the US, will be subject to significant downside risks from a Trump administration.

The Indian steel industry will showcase a CAGR of 6.99% during the forecast period owing to the consumption of steel products in the construction,infrastructure, transport, and automotive end-user segments. The construction, infrastructure, and transport segments will be the major endusers of the finished steel products in India as there has been extensive rise in investments in these segments.The Indian steel industry will be dominated by the flat steel products due to the rise in consumption of the flat steel products in automotive, construction, infrastructure and transport, domestic appliances, and other industrial applications (office furniture, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and packaging).It is estimated that the consumption of steel as a sustainable material will continue to grow during the forecast period as technological progressions and extensive R&D will decreased the consumption of energy in the steel production process.The Indian steel industry is affected by hindrances in iron ore supply, stable domestic iron ore prices, uncompetitive steel export because of stable Indian Rupee, and dumping of steel on India by steel-surplus nations such as China.The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 assists the Indian steel industry players and allows the transfer of mining leases for mining operations.ArcelorMittal and SAIL through their joint venture will set up an automotive steel manufacturing unit in India.This report covers the current market conditions and the growth prospects of the Indian steel industry for the period 2016-2020. It also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top five vendors in the Indian steel industry.

BMI View: The Hungarian medical device market will record low single-digit growth over the 2015-2020 forecast period, with the market expanding more slowly in US dollar terms due to local currency depreciation. Hungary will remain heavily reliant on imported medical devices despite a growing domestic industry. The comprehensive public hospital sector and expanding private sector will drive the demand for medical devices.

BMI View: Hong Kong's medical device market will continue to expand, despite muted economic growth.The aging population, continued state investment in the health sector and increased private sector involvement will drive market growth. With only limited domestic production, the market will remain heavily reliant on imports.

Vendors in the market are promoting packaged and integrated smart security solutions in a cost-effective way for residential and commercial users. For instance,Honeywell’s smart security solution, Pro-Watch, is a security management solution that includes access control, alarm monitor, digital video, CCTV surveillance, video badging, and visitor management features into one powerful system.The evolution of Internet of things (IoT), intelligent transportation system (ITS), and edge-based video surveillance are some of the areas that offer market opportunities for the vendors.The global smart security market is witnessing many technological innovations,

such as transition from 4K ultra HD (UHD) resolution surveillance cameras to near field communication (NFC).Sony launched SmartEyeglass SDK v1.4, equipped with a wide range of sensing technologies such as complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, electronic compass, accelerometer, gyroscope, brightness sensor, and microphone. This surveillance camera provides control over visitors with clear colors and unique functions even in poor lighting.

With rising instances of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue,chikungunya, and typhoid, consumers are becoming more health conscious. Thus,the demand for household insecticide products is increasing.Changing climatic conditions is increasing the density of mosquitoes that cause malaria, yellow fever, and dengue fever, putting the life of millions of people at risk.Thus, consumers are taking preventive actions to elude from the rising number of mosquito-borne diseases. Besides this, the increase in marketing initiatives by

vendors is driving the global mosquito repellent market. There is also a growing demand for organic repellents.The effect of pest control services is not long lasting and start wearing off after a month, making it essential to again call for a pest control service, which is timeconsuming and expensive. The need for a pest control service can be eliminated by using an insecticide such as a spray or coil that offers day-to-day protection against insects.An increase in spending by government and other agencies on preventive measures to reduce vector-borne diseases will help in market development.Innovations in packaging are also aiding market development.Manufacturers are introducing multi-insect killers in the market that allow customers to use the same product to kill different insects.