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29 March 2024

66% Dubai firms expect to grow headcount in a year: Survey

Published
By Staff

A large number of Dubai-based companies are looking to expand their operations within next year to other markets around the world and expects to grow their headcounts in coming years.

According to a survey conducted by Citi bank in conjunction with YouGov, 74 per cent firms are targeting new export markets.

"We're pleased to say that 74 per cent of companies surveyed in Dubai plan to open new international offices and similarly 74 per cent will target new export markets as a means of growing their businesses in the next two years," said Vincent Valladares, Head of Citi Commercial Bank, Middle East.

"We feel this reflects well on Dubai as a place to do business," he said, adding that "close to 66 per cent of respondents in Dubai also expected their businesses to grow headcount in the coming year.''

The report also revealed that when selecting the most suitable markets for expansion, the main priorities for Dubai-based businesses were presence of a skilled workforce, political stability, and ease of doing business.

The survey was conducted in Dubai, Istanbul, London and Moscow, with approximately 82 per cent of companies polled expressing confidence about their economic outlook over the next two years.

Respondents were most optimistic about the economic prospects of the Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions, while they were most pessimistic about Europe.

Conducted online, the survey included 290 mid-market companies from the four cities with turnover from $50 million to $1 billion.