DAVOS, 29 January 2006 — Arab executives show “extraordinary optimism” about business prospects despite concerns about terrorism, political risk and retaining talented staff, according to a survey released on Friday.
Of 140 senior executives interviewed in 14 countries by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Dubai-based Moutamarat group, 83 percent saw conditions improving further over the next year. The survey gave the Arab world a confidence score of 75.5 from a maximum 100, 35 percent more than scored by the United States in the Conference Board measure of CEO confidence.
It deliberately focused on three non-oil sectors — financial services, healthcare, and travel and tourism — while acknowledging that high oil prices and resulting excess liquidity had contributed to the “feelgood factor”. “The general level of confidence in the Arab world in the non-oil sectors is very, very high,” Michael Stevenson, Middle East senior partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Some 40 percent of the companies surveyed had experienced average annual revenue growth above 20 percent in the last 3 years. About 60 percent expected to exceed revenue targets over the next 12 months, and half of these believed they would beat the targets “significantly”. Half of leading companies were aiming to achieve growth through alliances and joint ventures.
The leading growth markets seen across all three business areas were the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while other countries were cited in particular niches - Algeria and Jordan in finance, Libya in healthcare and Egypt in tourism. The survey was conducted between September and November last year. Saeed Al-Muntafiq, chief executive of Moutamarat’s co-owner Tatweer, said the findings showed Arab companies were willing to open up their markets, at a time when global corporations are looking for new opportunities. He acknowledged, however, there could be some dip in confidence. But he added: “The Arab world has become extremely resilient over the last 20 or 30 years of its turmoil. It has somehow developed a system that business continues to grow.”