Business confidence in the Gulf recovered slightly in the second quarter, HSBC said in a survey on Sunday, although one in three of those polled expect the slowdown to last at least two more years. Business sentiment in the six-state Gulf Co-operation Council rose to 79.4 points in the second quarter from 74.8 points in the first quarter as optimism about sales and profits improved, HSBC said.
"The results of the second quarter survey may be described as cautiously optimistic," said Tim Reid, Co-Head of Global Banking, HSBC Middle East, in a statement. The uptick recovered some ground lost in late 2008 when sentiment plunged in the wake of the credit crisis.
Sentiment was strongest in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, and the weakest in the United Arab Emirates, the third-largest oil exporter, whose activities in real estate, finance and logistics have been hit by the global downturn. "Things do not appear to be deteriorating. It's a far cry from the boom time of 2007 and early 2008, but most believe the worst is over," Reid said.