UAE – Mubasher: A recent survey conducted by the American Express Corporation Middle East along with the Institutional Investor Foundation showed that 72% of the top executives in the UAE expect the GCC state’s economy to grow over the coming 12 months, Al Bayan newspaper reported.
Almost 40% of the participant executives said they are keen to raise their spending this year by about 8% as compared with 2018, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, 24% of participants expected the number of their employees to increase by 10% this year, while 58% of respondents believed it could increase by less than 10%.
Around 46% of the participants projected salaries to increase by 6% in 2019 and 65% of the executives highlighted obstacles in hiring the required skills to achieve their strategic goals.
Furthermore, 64% of the executives in the Middle East region believe that trade with global markets is a key driver for economic growth in the coming period.
The study also showed that foreign trade will mostly depend on subjective strategies instead of traditional partnerships.
Additionally, 71% of top executives in the region expected their home countries to witness huge or moderate expansions in 2019.
