Confidence among business leaders in the UAE remained robust in the third quarter of this year, said a study.

The YPO Global Pulse sentiment index pointed out that CEOs in the UAE are more optimistic than the regional composite level for the Mena region, which landed at 63.3 on the 100-point scale in the October survey, while Saudi Arabia index registered 68.1.

“Confidence levels have certainly been boosted by recent figures showing how non-oil exports are driving economic growth, a trend which is likely to accelerate,” said Ali Tabbara, managing director of UTC International, a member of the YPO Saudi Chapter and the chair of YPO’s Mena region.

“CEO confidence in Mena has risen for three consecutive quarters, based not only on strong oil prices but also increasing diversification within some of the region’s economies,” he said.

Globally, overall confidence levels across different regions continued to converge, with less than a point now separating Asia and the EU, compared with a 12.8-point difference six months ago.

While other regions showed marginal increases in optimism, confidence in the US edged lower, still stuck in the tight 3-point range it has held since July 2012.

CEOs in the UAE were relatively bullish about sales growth, with more than three quarters of the survey participants expecting to increase revenues by at least 10 per cent over the next 12 months. Nearly half said they also expected to hire more workers.

Two-thirds of the survey participants said overall business and economic conditions had improved over the last six months, and about 83 per cent said they expected things to get even better over the coming six months. - TradeArabia News Service