Key View

• Economic recovery will support Russia's medical device market.
• Economic upswing in 2018 will boost medical device imports.
• Kazakhstan's positive economic outlook will benefit Russia's medical device exports.

Forecast Changes

We have revised upwards our CAGR forecast and now project that the market will expand by a 2017-2022 CAGR of

Key View

• Russia's sluggish economic recovery in 2018 will repress pharmaceutical market growth, as highlighted by a number of multinational drugmakers.
• Confirmed data from AIPM confirms this view, leading to a downgrade in our market forecast.
• Market growth will remain on a low-growth trajectory due to restrictions in healthcare funds, as a

• Russia to post budget surplus in 2018 and 2019.
• Putin's 2018 May Decrees will shape the country's budget strategy over the coming years, underpinning reform momentum in the fiscal sector and increased borrowing.

Forecast Change:

• We have revised our budget balance forecasts for Russia to reflect higher than anticipated revenues alongside

Some Russian regions are not financially capable of maintaining their 2018 FIFA World Cup facilities in the long run and this could become a credit risk, Fitch Ratings says. However, infrastructure, especially roads and airports, constructed for the World Cup should improve economic growth potential and a rise in tourism will result in small

Fitch-rated Russian banks appear able to absorb potential credit losses from their exposure to individuals and companies targeted by US sanctions announced on 6 April. Most rated banks do not have material exposure, and those that do appear to have collateral or sufficient pre-impairment profitability to cover potential losses. We therefore do not

Russia's Pharma 2020 vision is driving growth within the country's pharmaceutical sector, providing considerable opportunities for drugmakers. The market poses significant growth potential for medicine sales, leading to a significant uptick in foreign investment into production capacity. We note that this will remain firmly within the generic

The near collapse of private bank Otkritie will not pose a systematic risk to the Russian banking sector, supported by central bank interventions aimed at ensuring stability. However, the failure highlights that some smaller players remain vulnerable amid an in increase in risk aversion. This is turn will encourage further consolidation

In two weeks’ time, Vladimir Putin will mark 14 years as Russia’s top political leader, either as prime minister (1999-2000, 2008-2012) or president (2000-2008, 2012- present). He is now post-revolutionary Russia’s third-longest serving leader after Joseph Stalin (1924-1953) and Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982). At the age of 60, Putin could