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Key View

• We now expect that Saudi Arabia's current account surplus will remain stable at 5.6% of GDP in 2024, marking a downward revision from our previous forecast of 7.6% of GDP due to lower-than-anticipated oil production and growth in services exports.
• Oil exports will support the surplus due to an increase in energy prices in 2024, while

Key View

• The launch of India's National Single Window System will streamline medical device regulatory processes, benefitting both domestic producers and multinational manufacturers.
• India’s medical devices market will register high single-digit growth over our forecast period, led by other medical devices.
• The market will continue to

The Latest: On January 17 2024, US-based fast-food chain, Popeyes, announced a MXN162.0mn (USD9.0mn) investment into their expansion in Mexico. The investment will add a further 14 stores in the market, complementing the existing 36 outlets in regions such as Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, and Queretaro, following the

In this article, we will discuss our five-year outlook for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) banking sector, highlighting some key themes that we think will emerge, as well as the main risks affecting the sector. This article will be part of a series of regional pieces looking into SSA banking sectors.

Projected growth in total assets for the SSA

Latest Development: Advance estimates on January 31 showed that the economy of Hong Kong, China grew by 0.5% on a q-o-q seasonally adjusted basis in Q423, accelerating from 0.3% growth in Q323. On a y-o-y basis, the economy grew by 4.3% in the final quarter, which was above our expectation of 3.5% growth but below the consensus forecast of 4.7%

Key View: We highlight Bulgaria as a market to watch for tourism investment over the medium term (2024-2028). We estimate that the market’s total tourist arrivals made a full recovery to their pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and will grow by an annual average of 3.7% over the medium term to reach a projected 15.5mn in 2028. We highlight investment in

Key View

• In its latest meeting on January 31, the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) cut the benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 11.25% as inflation cools towards the target range, and signalled further rate cuts to come.
• For the upcoming March 31 meeting, we expect a further 50bps reduction to 10.75%, driven by moderate inflation and slowing

The Latest: On January 29 2024, AbbVie announced a major expansion initiative for its manufacturing operations in Singapore with an investment of USD223mn. This strategic infusion of capital is intended to bolster AbbVie's worldwide production network with an emphasis on the development of biologic drugs. The planned expansion will not only

Key View

• The Bank of England (BoE) held Bank Rate steady at 5.25% on February 1 2024, marking the fourth rate hold in a row. The BoE has clearly entered a holding pattern, which we expect to extend well into 2024.
• We anticipate that the BoE will begin to reduce rates in H2 2024, with 75bps of cuts pencilled in by end-year.
• Although our

Key View

• We retain our view that Botswana’s current account surplus will widen to 1.1% of GDP in 2024, from an estimated 0.4% in 2023.
• Our expectation of a widening surplus is premised on a recovery in the export-oriented diamond sector, alongside continued growth in service exports.
• Botswana’s ample foreign exchange reserves will limit