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The Polish Retail Report examines the long-term potential of the local consumer market, but flags shortterm concerns about the impact on Poland's economic outlook of the austere 2012 public budget passed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which will drag on domestic demand and consumer spending.

The Hungary Insurance Report considers the prospects for both life and non-life insurers in that country. Relative to its peers in Central and Eastern Europe, Hungary stands out for several reasons. The most obvious is that it has been shrinking, by at least one metric, for years. The latest data, published by the Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies (MABISZ) in Q112, indicate that, in terms of gross premiums written, both segments were smaller in 2011 than they had been in 2007. Although the life segment is dominated by unit-linked products, a characteristic that attests to the risk tolerance of Hungarian households who use life insurance and one that also sets Hungary's insurance sector apart from others in the region, the volatility of financial markets has taken its toll. Brutal competition in motor related lines (ie: both compulsory motorists third-party liability - CMTPL - cover and voluntary hull insurance or CASCO) has forced tariffs downwards: this is a challenge that has been highlighted by many of the insurers that have commented on business conditions in Hungary over the last year.

Mobile commerce is expected to reach $10 B USD by the end of 2013, representing an annual compound growth rate of 39% that will continue over the next five years.

Biopesticides are beneficial to ecological chain and environment and are also effective in controlling agricultural pest. The hazards caused to the environment by chemical pesticide residues can be alleviated with the help of biopesticides. Phasing-out of highly toxic pesticides proved to be winning imperative for biopesticides market, opening new growth paths for introduction of less toxic biopesticide products.

Our outlook on the UAE's food and drink sector is positive, as consumer confidence appears to be returning. We expect growth of the core economy to gradually tick higher over the coming quarters, with elevated oil prices and improved consumer and business sentiment underpinning a steady expansion in real GDP. Following estimated real GDP growth of 3.3% in 2011, our current forecast is for 3.5% growth in 2012. The outlook for household consumption has also picked up in recent months, and we are now forecasting this to grow by 8.0% in 2012 as household spending is supported by recent government wage hikes, which have seen some public sector employees' salaries (particularly in the judiciary, health and education sectors) double. Monetary policy conditions will remain highly accommodative in 2012, as there is minimal likelihood of the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates any time soon.That said, with new credit growth expected to remain in the low single digits, we believe a cautious stance is still warranted. Growth in the private non-hydrocarbon sector will be constrained by still-weak credit conditions. Moreover, our outlook on private consumption is tempered by recent reports which have indicated that UAE firms were among the most likely in the Gulf Cooperation Council to cut staff in 2012.

We forecast that Malaysia's mining industry value will reach MYR109.3bn by 2016, an annual average growth of 1.1% from 2011's estimated MYR103.7bn. Growth will be led by the country's nascent gold mining industry, which has been attracting a number of foreign investors. Monument Mining's Selinsing gold mine is set to become the country's largest gold mine as the old Penjom mine's reserves run out. Malaysia provides an attractive mining legislative environment for foreign investors (tax holidays, 100% foreign ownership, transparent and centralised mining license granting) and should be taken advantage of while the country is still trying to divert investment away from regional favorites, including the Philippines and Indonesia. There is the risk that these laws will change once the country is able to attract enough money.

The Caribbean Tourism Report examines the enormous long-term potential of the market, given its reputation as a major tourism destination, but analyses the impact of a slowdown in Europe - one of its major markets - especially as the Caribbean is a relatively expensive holiday destination The report examines how best to maximise returns in the Caribbean tourism market, capitalising on the region's wide variety of tourism destinations and well developed tourism infrastructure. The report also assesses differences between the key island groupings and which are recovering more swiftly.

BMI maintains its cautious outlook for the Chinese port and shipping sector, highlighting that indicators continue to align to back our view of a slowdown in China's economic growth. These fears have been heightened by the negative growth posted by the major export bellwether. Our outlook has seen some support in the declining container volumes at the Port of Shanghai in February 2012.

BMI View: Despite an increasingly ageing population (consequently increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases), Hong Kong will only be moderately attractive to investors given its small market size. While the dominance of patented medicines is set to continue in the medium term, costcontainment measures will increasingly prioritise the use of generic drugs in the public sector. We also note that the anticipation of a year of the dragon baby boom can bring about short-term opportunities for pharmaceutical companies with infant care products as part of their portfolios.

Road is projected to remain the dominant form of freight transport in 2012, with BMI projecting it to account for 85.1% of Poland's total freight. Rail freight is, however, the area to watch in BMI's opinion, with the sector carving out more market share, a trend projected to continue over the medium term as rail freight carriers expand their operations and a push from the EU leads to a region-wide drive to move more cargo volumes from road to rail.