Saudi business confidence rises
14:25, 17 January 2010
RIYADH. January 17. KAZINFORM The Kingdom's business community remains the most confident in the region, according to a new survey released on Saturday by HSBC, the global associate bank of SABB; Kazinform refers to the Arab News.
Dwelling on levels of confidence among entrepreneurs in the region, the report stressed that business confidence continues to increase in Saudi Arabia.
In Kuwait, confidence among businessmen also rose in the fourth quarter of 2009 but has declined slightly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Oman, the report stated.
HSBC's quarterly Gulf Business Confidence Index fell from 81.4 to 80.2 between the third and fourth quarters of 2009. While this change is small, it masks a more complex regional picture: The Kingdom's index rose marginally from 91.5 to 91.6, while Kuwait's rose from 83.1 to 84.6. The UAE by contrast declined from 72.2 to 69.8 in the fourth quarter; Kazinform cites the Arab News.
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