Insights

Pulse of the GCC: Arab Spring Shines Light on Business Priorities

While business confidence continues to improve across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, pressures outside the region are shaping the C-suite’s view of business reform priorities, according to the 5th Oliver Wyman / Zogby Research Services survey of 160 top managers.

Senior executives across the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, believe the Arab Spring has increased both the importance of addressing issues such as youth employment and labor reform and the rate at which these reforms should take place. When asked what posed the greatest hurdle to undertaking reform, these executives frequently cited “vested interests” and “lack of urgency.”

Other findings include:

  • Asked which is the greater challenge, twice as many executives said creating jobs for young nationals than said fostering greater political participation.
  • “Outside macro-economic shocks” are seen as the greatest threats to business conditions in the United Arab Emirates.
  • More than half of all respondents report that the Eurozone crisis has had an impact on their business.

For more details from the latest survey, released in January 2012 at the annual Oliver Wyman / Financial Times conference in Dubai, download the report.

Pulse of the GCC: Arab Spring Shines Light on Business Priorities


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