Dubai: Over a quarter of the small and medium enterprises expanded their operations locally to target new customers in the past 12 months, more than their counterparts in Germany or Italy, helping in an upward revision in the UAE’s GDP growth forecast, global insurer Zurich said on Wednesday.
German and Italian SMEs showed little appetite for growth in their home markets, compared to the SMEs in the UAE.
Nearly one fifth of SMEs in the UAE also reported that they expanded their activities to new overseas markets over the past year; higher than the global average of 15 per cent.
“As the global economy continues to recover, we expect to see more opportunities for SMEs to export their products and services overseas,” said Clint Draper, Head of SME at Zurich Insurance Middle East.
About a fifth of the small and medium enterprises had diversified their product range or services over the last year, 17 per cent had increased staff, and 12 per cent increased wages, indicating confidence of the small and medium enterprises in the region.
The survey included findings of 3,800 small and medium enterprises across 19 countries, including 200 companies in the UAE, about their business experience during the past 12 months.
