During our most recent Analyst Briefing, the Chemicals & Materials research team discussed the role that Globalisation as a megatrend is playing in the development of our industry. It is undoubtedly a complex issue, encompassing many individual factors. The first thing that may come to mind is the idea that the world is becoming "a smaller place" - both in terms of communication and also in the movement of physical objects, whether this means people or goods.

The global movement of people includes such trends as urbanisation. The changing global patterns in manufacturing of goods will alter not only where chemicals themselves might be made in the future, but also where the key markets are, as this will depend on the global manufacturing shifts in our key end-user industries.

During the Briefing, the audience was asked to give their opinion on what aspect of globalisation would have the greatest impact on their businesses. The results are shown below. It is clear from this that chemical companies primarily see globalisation trends as offering real growth opportunities for them.

The question that must follow from this is - what countries to look to for these growth opportunities? Some such as China and Russia are clearly important, but what about the next tier? This is something we are currently considering ourselves, and would value your opinions too. I personally will be watching countries such as Qatar, and the north African countries such as Morocco. They have great potential for growth.