Senior financial and treasury professionals in the Middle East are bullish about the prospects for their companies' business in the coming 12 months despite dollar liquidity challenges, a report said.

A resounding 73 per cent are optimistic about their performance, says the "Treasury Verdict" taken by a live audience poll of senior treasury and finance professionals at EuroFinance's conference on Trade, Treasury and Cash Management in the Middle East held in Dubai. The session is sponsored by J P Morgan Treasury Services.
 
The event was held on March 13-14. Using an electronic voting system, respondents answered 11 key questions on the future of the global economy. The results were then discussed by an expert panel.

Middle East is placed third in the Treasury Verdict optimism ranking, only trailing results from the Brazil (85 per cent) and Mexico (82 per cent) events.

When asked if the liquidity of the dollar is going to have a negative impact on their funding, a notable 78 per cent of participants replied that it would in some way.  The level of impact varies, with 19 per cent saying it has "considerable impact" and 43 per cent registering "some impact". And while some are not experiencing an impact, 16 per cent note that they expect it to.

When it comes to the most important global areas for company growth, Middle East finance professionals plan expansion close to home, with 78 per cent choosing the Middle East and Africa. The business being conducted out of the Middle East into Africa puts the region into direct competition with Asia.

In addition, while 19 per cent of Middle East finance professionals want to grow their business in China, the rest of Asia was a more popular destination with 30 per cnet participants citing this as an important growth area.

Katharine Morton, EuroFinance's managing editor, said: "The dollar liquidity issue is certainly a matter of concern for companies’ ability to fund going forward. But it’s good to see that that’s not denting overall bullishness. And it’s particularly encouraging to note that companies will be looking to expand in Africa and the Middle East." - TradeArabia News Service