khaleejtimes: Businesses in Dubai anticipate further improvement in demand in the final quarter of 2015 following a robust third quarter. A quarterly business survey conducted by the Department of Economic Development, or DED, in Dubai showed a general upbeat sentiment among businesses.
“Performance estimates driven by the cyclical upswing in demand has led to 51 per cent of the businesses anticipating further improvement in fourth quarter 2015 with only eight per cent said they are gearing for a slump as against a corresponding 43 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, in the previous quarter. The remaining 41 per cent expect the situation to remain unchanged during the final quarter,” DED said in a statement. The Business Confidence Index (BCI) for the third quarter of 2015 showed an increase from 110.1 points in the second quarter to 124.8 points though the composite BCI is 15.8 points lower compared to third quarter 2014.
Most businesses (79 per cent) have indicated that they do not foresee any change in their selling prices during Q4 2015, while 13 per cent of the businesses are hopeful of higher selling prices However, growing competition has led eight per cent of the respondents to forecast a dip in selling prices during fourth quarter. For the final quarter, the net balance for selling prices stands at positive five per cent, which is higher compared to positive three per cent in third quarter 2015. The survey showed that sales revenue expectations in third quarter 2015 are stronger than in second quarter though moderate when compared to the last year. The net balance for sales revenues for the final quarter stands at 49 per cent in comparison to 29 per cent for third quarter and 62 per cent for fourth quarter last year.
“In a reversal of trend from the last quarter, large companies are more optimistic compared to SMEs, with composite BCI scores of 129.2 and 118.3 points respectively. However, while larger firms are more optimistic about selling prices, number of employees and net profits, SMEs hold a stronger outlook with respect to volumes sold,” DED said.
Exporters have a weaker outlook compared to the overall business community, with composite BCI scores of 111.3 and 124.8 points, respectively. Domestically-oriented firms are more optimistic than exporters in term of sales revenues, selling prices, volumes, net profits, hiring and new purchase orders.
A survey by Emirates NBD has revealed that despite stronger growth in activity and new orders, confidence towards the 12-month business outlook moderated for the second month in a row in August, while the rate of job creation was little-changed from July.
Another recent survey by HSBC revealed that the UAE is among top 10 countries globally for expats while Dubai is ranked second-best city in the world after Singapore for expats looking to start a business.
According to HSBC’s Expat Explorer 2015 survey, the UAE has been singled out for the opportunities it offers people looking to build their careers or for those seeking to start their own businesses, with Dubai being chosen as the second-best city globally for expat entrepreneurs.
