Dubai: The overall business environment in Dubai has boost the expectation and confidence of business leaders across the emirate, however some are still concerned about the negative impact of short-stay visa validity and rising rent on cost of operations.

According to the Business Leaders’ Survey for Q3-2013 conducted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 48 per cent of the business leaders showed high optimism in the business environment while they called upon authorities to tackle the issues which have negative impact on their businesses.

Moreover, 26 per cent of the business leaders expected it to remain the same while other 26 per cent expected the conditions to worsen in the third quarter of the year.

Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, said that the Business Outlook surveys conducted by the Chamber is used as a tool for development for the business community as they help in monitoring the pulse of businesses in Dubai as well as to gauge the perceptions and future outlook for entrepreneurs and investors in the emirate.

These surveys allow the Chamber to collaborate with other Government entities and departments to iron out the obstacles that would hinder the growth of businesses in Dubai.

Irfan Al Hassani, a UAE based economist, attributed the businesses optimism to the ongoing growth in the market. He said: “Currently Dubai market is experiencing a remarkable boom and across most of the business sectors.”

In addition to the nature of Dubai market, Al Hassani said that many other factors contributed in this positive outlook to Dubai market.

“Ease of doing business, legal framework, businesses performance, access to credit market, openness to different market in addition to stability and safety all together are behind this developed business environment,” he added.

On the other hand, the quarterly business confidence survey conducted by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai said that a stable business outlook and improvements in the business environment rose the Business Confidence Index (BCI) for the second quarter of this year to 120.7 points in Dubai, a 14.6 points increase over the same period in 2012.

Over 83 per cent of the businesses in Dubai expect an increase or no change in sales volumes during the third quarter of 2013 while many plan to invest in hiring or technology upgrades.

Export firms and larger enterprises in general are more confident on sales volumes, profitability and prices compared to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“Dubai has placed considerable emphasis on aligning its business environment with the best in the world and such efforts are translated into growing confidence among businesses.

“As per current estimates, Dubai’s real GDP grew by 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, followed by 4.7 per cent in Q2 as trade and other non-oil sectors flourished and the prevailing trends confirm that such growth is here to stay,” said Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED.