Survey: Gulf business outlook positive

The outlook for the coming 12 months is largely upbeat, buoyed by higher and stabler oil prices, although regional political volatility remained a cause of concern for many, a new survey of 900 C-suite executives in the Arabian Gulf by Oxford Business Group found. According to OBG’s findings, 70 per cent of executives said their expectations for local business conditions in the approaching year were either positive or very positive, with only 16 per cent describing them as negative or very negative. A similar proportion (69 per cent) told OBG they thought it likely or very likely that their company would be making a significant capital investment within the same time frame.