The Knowledge to Decide

With the increase in pet ownership, healthcare and spending, Asia’s pet industry is expected to grow at 14.3 per cent annually from 2016 to 2021. Pet ownership as well as expenditure per pet is increasing. Will Asia become the next global hub for pet-related products and services? The beginning of pet ownership As of 2016, the majority of households across the globe owned a pet. Pets have been a part of human society for thousands of years. Cats and dogs were buried with humans. The ancient Romans also kept small toy dogs approximately 2,000 years ago. As of 2016, the majority of households across the globe owned a pet. Dogs are officially man’s best friend with one third of households world-wide (on average) owning a dog. Cats are not far behind, with one quarter of households (23 per cent) owning cats, making them the second most popular pet. Where do the market opportunities lie? The annual growth rate of the pet care industry in Asia between 2017- 20

Does anyone own the moon? Or other planets for that matter? The prospect of mining on the moon and other celestial bodies is fast becoming a reality. In 2018, Moon Express, based in Florida, aims to be the first private entity to put a small robotic lander on the moon with an investment of approximately USD1.85 million to set up an operations room and an engineering laboratory with a firings test stand for spacecraft engines. Private space exploration is picking up. Due to ambiguities in the Outer Space Treaty, it is not clear who can profit from such business opportunities. Such ventures could exploit the fact that no international treaties apply laws to the moon. Will governments allow private space exploration and the mining of moons and planets? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/raking-in-the-moolah-through-moon-mining/

Indonesia is the world’s third largest aquaculture producer. What business prospects lie in Indonesia’s aqua farming industry? Spire Research and Consulting was honored to be a sponsor and speaker at the Indonesia Norway Business Council (INBC) Salmon Evening in Jakarta – an event aimed at exploring trends and potential business opportunities in Indonesia’s aqua farming industry. At the event, Franklin Crum, Manager, Client Service of Spire Research and Consulting, spoke about aqua farming and the untapped opportunities in this industry. He remarked that Indonesia, being the third largest aquaculture producer worldwide (trailing closely behind China and India), saw an average annual increase of 30.9% in aquaculture production volume from 2009 to 2012. Crum commented that opportunities in aqua farming are abundant. There is an increasing demand for high-value fish species such as snapper, grouper, pompano and barramundi as well as rising supply of fingerlings (young fish) for

ASEAN is now poised to be the hotspot for global automotive manufacturing. The increasing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) operating in ASEAN has played a pivotal role in driving demand in the automotive industry. Against that backdrop, the South East Asia Automotive Summit 2014 gathered key industry stakeholders, such as global car OEMs, government bodies, associations, as well as manufacturing solutions providers and consultants, to discuss the market outlook and potential business opportunities. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the speakers at the 3rd Annual South-East Asia Automotive Summit held in Jakarta. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized the importance of implementing a localized market strategy to penetrate the market. He identified key internal and external factors that would influence automotive localization in the ASEAN region. He shared that there are abundant business opportunities i