Consumer goods, auto and healthcare sector to expand but energy may face challenge in 2025: Report

Amid the ongoing geopolitical tension, the energy sector will continue to face challenge while the consumer goods, automotive, healthcare is set to expand in 2025, highlighted a report 'Industry Outlook 2025' by Economist Intelligence Unit.

The report noted that the Fossil fuel markets will continue to face risks from geopolitical conflicts, particularly in the Middle East and Ukraine. However, investments in renewable energy will remain strong, especially in China, as the world pushes toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sources.

The report said "Fossil-fuel markets will continue to face geopolitical risks amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, but investment into renewables will remain strong, particularly in China."

It also added that the financial sector faces a mixed outlook with falling interest rates anticipated to narrow bank profit margins, potentially leading to smaller dividend payouts for shareholders. Yet, regulatory easing could provide relief, with the Basel III endgame likely seeing further delays, softening the impact on banking institutions amid a challenging economic landscape.

For the consumer goods and retailing the report added that the Global retail volumes are forecast to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2025, thanks to easing inflation. However, stricter regulations on online retailing will target high-volume, low-price retailers, to ensure fair competition and consumer protection.

It said "Global retail volumes will expand by 2.2 per cent, helped by disinflation, but regulations around online retailing will tighten further"

This includes a 2 per cent rise in new car sales, a 4 per cent increase in commercial vehicle sales, and a significant 16 per cent growth in electric vehicle sales, reflecting the sector's recovery and the shift toward cleaner mobility.

In technology the report added more countries will adopt satellite internet, although the primary users will be enterprise clients, including military and maritime sectors.

Amazon's Project Kuiper will challenge the existing market dominance of Starlink and EutelSat OneWeb, offering more competition and potential growth in satellite connectivity.

The resulting tensions will continue to affect investment into production and market entry, with companies taking advantage of government incentives to build out more flexible supply chains. Investment in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), will also be strong as projects gather pace.

However, technology companies will face pressure from several directions as regulations tighten (particularly in Europe), investors become more impatient for profits and their energy usage comes under more scrutiny.