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Group Management Report Corporate Governance Environment, Safety, and Corporate Social Responsibility Consolidated Financial Statements 57 Expected Developments Future Orientation of the Group We do not plan on making any fundamental changes to the Group’s strategy or organizational structure in the next two years. The focus on specialty markets and the offer of innova- tive chemical solutions will continue to drive our business development. We do not expect our entry into new market segments or application areas to lead to any significant changes in our sales structure in the medium term. We also expect the regional sales distribution to basically remain stable. Acquisitions, however, could lead to changes in our sales and market structures. Bolt-on acquisitions and particu- larly the integration of a new business division could result in a shift. Economic and Industry Outlook We do not expect the overall economic situation to change fundamentally in 2016 compared to 2015. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts an increase of 3.4 % in world economic output, slightly higher than the 2015 growth. This development should be driven both by stronger growth momentum in the emerging countries and further growth in the established industrial nations. The highest growth rates for 2016 are forecast for the emerging Asian economies. The IMF estimates that the momentum in India and the ASEAN-5 states will pick up slightly, while China’s growth will continue to slow down. For China, a positive economic development of 6.3 % is predicted (previous year: + 6.9 %). An unchanged growth rate is forecast for the U.S. (+ 2.6 %). In Europe, the economic recovery is expected to continue. Economic output of 1.7 % is anticipated for the whole Euro zone including Germany. For the Brazilian and Russian economies, the IMF expects continued recession in 2016. Subsequent Events In January 2016, ALTANA’s ELANTAS Electrical Insulation division acquired a new production site in Tongling, China, to increase its wire-enamel production capacities. On the date on which the financial statements were prepared, the transaction had not yet been fully completed as the proc- ess of transferring property rights had not been finished yet.


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