Qatar’s Business Optimism Highest In Three Years

Business optimism in Qatar has soared to its highest level in three years, according to a Dun & Bradstreet business optimism index.

The survey revealed that the finance, real estate and business service sector was the best performing with business optimism at the highest, sporting a year-on-year growth of 15.4 per cent.

The profitability of the finance, real estate and business sector was also found to have risen over the last year from 21 points in Q4 2012 to 58 points in the fourth quarter this year.

“The sharp increase in optimism shows how strong and resilient the Qatar economy is. In particular, the finance, real estate and business services sector is maturing rapidly and is a major force behind economic diversification, playing a leading role in supporting the country’s development,” said Yousef M. Al-Jaida, chief strategic development officer, QFC Authority.

Business optimism in Qatar’s non-hydrocarbon sector was higher than the previous quarters.

The optimism index for the consolidated non-hydrocarbon sector was 53, up 14 points from Q3 2013 and around 15 points from Q4 2012 levels.

According to the survey, business optimism in the fourth quarter this year was the highest since Q1 2011, indicating that Qatar’s economic diversification is gaining momentum.

In addition, around 50 per cent of Qatar’s small and medium sized companies are planning to hire in Q4 this year.

The survey found that optimism was highest for sectors like hydrocarbons, manufacturing and construction.

“Both the non-hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon sector scores have recovered after a period of decline during the last two to three quarters,” said Prashant Kumar, associate director, Dun and Bradstreet South Asia Middle East.

“It is encouraging to see that 72 per cent of the non-hydrocarbon sector respondents expect that no negative factors or challenges will affect their business operations in Q4 2013, a significant increase from the previous quarter’s 58 per cent. For the remaining 28 per cent, competition and delays in payment and receivables continue to be the key challenges.”