Saudi Arabia and the UAE displayed a high level of business confidence, with 42 percent and 38.5 percent of respondents respectively reporting confidence gains, the latest edition of the Global Economic Conditions Survey conducted by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) said Monday. While both can rely on strong, sustainable government spending, Saudi Arabia also boasts the best performance of any major market in terms of new orders and investment, the report said. Egypt, on the other hand, is a negative outlier, and is still reeling from the last year's transition despite successfully holding elections in January. The number of Middle East professionals reporting confidence in their businesses has grown from 26 percent in late 2011 to 32 percent in the first quarter of 2012, a global survey said. This is the only major ACCA/IMA market to report a relative loss of confidence in early 2012. Only 24 percent of respondents reported a confidence gain, compared to 30 percent in late 2011. The segment of professionals reporting confidence gains in their organizations on a global level has also nearly doubled from 16 per cent in late 2011 to 29 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, the survey said. The global economy recovered substantially in early 2012 and regained some of the dynamism it had lost over the last year, it added. The survey findings, representing the views of about 2,200 professional accountants around the world, indicated that while the majority (54 per cent) still believed the global economy was deteriorating or stagnating, that figure was down from 73 percent in the previous quarter.
