UAE CEOs among world's most confident; 38% hiring

CEOs in the UAE are among the world’s most optimistic about future prospects for their organisations with over two-third predicting double-digit growth and 38 per cent claiming to hire more employees in the next 12 months.

According to a quarterly survey conducted by YPO, the UAE index landed at 67.2 and the regional reading came in at 62.9, both above the global composite index level of 62.5.

While the YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the UAE fell 3.4 points in the first quarter on the back of a wider downturn within the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, both the UAE and the regional composite index are firmly in optimistic territory.

“With regards to the economic environment of the region and particularly of the UAE, I personally am extremely optimistic. The present economic conditions in the UAE are very good and the future looks very promising.
"In light of this, I expect both capital expenditure and employment to increase in the UAE,” said Manish Patel, managing director of Geap Group and an executive member of YPO’s Emirates Chapter.

YPO (Young Presidents’ Organisation) is a not-for-profit global network of young chief executives connected around the shared mission of becoming Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange.

Globally, low interest rates and continued recovery in developed markets in the first quarter of 2014 sustained CEO optimism. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index inched down half a point to 62.5.
Confidence downturns in pockets of the emerging world contributed to the slight decline.

Key findings in UAE

Sales forecasts stay strong: The YPO Sales Confidence Index for UAE ticked up 2.4 points in the first quarter, driven by favourable year-on-year revenue growth as well as rosy forecasts for the next 12 months.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of surveyed CEOs predicted turnover growth of at least 10 per cent in the next year. At 71.4, the sales confidence reading for the UAE is higher than the global composite index, which landed at 68.5. The Mena regional reading came in at 67.0, slightly below where it was in January.

Investment and employment forecasts stay buoyant: While the fixed investment and employment components of the UAE index dipped over the first quarter, they remain robust. Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) of surveyed CEOs said they expected to hire new workers over the next 12 months, and this same percentage indicated plans to step up capital spending within the same period.

The quarterly electronic survey, conducted in the first two weeks of April, gathered answers from 1,996 chief executive officers across the globe, including 74 in Mena and 23 in UAE.

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