Articles

Key View: The extension of Spain's MOVES III incentive scheme until July 2024, offering tax benefits and purchase incentives, in conjunction with upgrades to the local EV charging infrastructure, will encourage Spanish consumers to shift from ICEs to EVs in 2024. We expect the growth rate in Spain's passenger EV segment to significantly exceed

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• We expect that real GDP growth in Botswana will accelerate to 5.0% in 2024, from an estimated 2.7% in 2023.
• Relatively stable energy prices will see inflation fall, boosting private consumption.
• An expected recovery in global diamond prices will prompt diamond traders to resume sales in 2024, providing tailwinds to exports.

We

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• Colombia-based Ecopetrol is set to enter a drilling spree in 2024 as the state-backed company seeks to take advantage of recent hydrocarbon discoveries and preserve the lifelines of its existing assets.
• This investment comes at a crossroads for Colombia’s oil and gas industry, with the incumbent Petro administration so far holding

Latest Development: On April 1 2024, Smith+Nephew (S+N) launched the Renasys Edge Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) System in the US, a device that significantly advances the home-based treatment of chronic wounds in the US. NPWT devices are wound dressing systems that continuously or intermittently apply sub-atmospheric pressure to the

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• We expect limited social stability and policy continuity risks following Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s decisive victory over the incumbent-backed Amadou Ba in Senegal’s presidential election, held on March 24.
• Despite the upcoming presidential handover, we do not expect any drastic policy shifts as the opposition coalition lacks

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• We forecast that Mauritian real GDP growth will slow to 4.5% in 2024, from an estimated 6.5% in 2023. We have revised up our 2023 estimate, after Statistics Mauritius published the nominal growth outturn of 7.3% y-o-y in Q4 2023, up from 5.3% in Q3 2023. 
• We expect that construction sector growth will drive economic activity in

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• Despite the election of the KO-led government in December 2023, the Polish political risk environment is likely to remain strained as the government faces significant obstacles in delivering its election pledges.
• Reversing reforms made to critical Polish institutions by the previous PiS government will prove challenging

The Latest: Across March 2024, the landscape of India’s pharmaceutical sector has witnessed a notable shift as numerous global pharmaceutical companies have been forging strategic alliances with Indian firms to enhance their market penetration in the country. On March 27 2024, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories announced an exclusive partnership with

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• South Korea's 2023 trade deficit with Mainland China, the first in 30 years, marks a historic shift in its trade relationship with its largest trading partner, culminating from a decade-long decline from a peak surplus in 2013.
• The changing trade patterns underscore China's decreased reliance on South Korean exports and South

The Latest: On March 25 2024, McDonald's ended its franchise agreement with Abans, its local partner in Sri Lanka, citing alleged issues with hygiene standards. All 12 outlets in the country have since closed.

Implications: Our Country Team forecast a continuous recovery of the wider Sri Lankan economy following the aftermath of the