Gulf companies confident of rebound

Dubai : Regional and international firms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set for an aggressive and positive economic rebound in 2010, according to a survey conducted by Mercer, the global HR consulting firm.

The survey, which covers 79 organisations, shows that almost 65 per cent are expecting to meet or even exceed their revenue targets for 2009, and almost 69 per cent are setting higher revenue targets for 2010.

The majority of these firms are headquartered in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar, said Bassam Gazal, head of Mercer's Information Products Solutions practice for the Middle East. Only 19 per cent stated that their headquarters are in Europe.

"The predictions of a positive end to the year and an optimistic outlook for 2010 are backed up by what we heard during a mid-year business sentiment survey, and what we hear every day from our clients," Gazal said.

The survey shows that the cost-cutting measures that were drastically taken by many companies are slowing down from earlier in the year. In 2009, 65 per cent of the firms carried out cost reduction programme, Gazal said. Almost 87 per cent said they have no intentions to reduce headcount in 2010.

Almost 56 per cent plan to increase their workforce in 2010 and of those, one in five firms say they would be increasing their workforce numbers at least by 20 per cent. On 2010 plans, nearly half the respondents said they would be providing base salary increases.

"We believe the agility with which organisations responded to their business challenges has contributed to this feeling of optimism and renewal as we confront a new year," Bassam added.