TAG: The Middle East
Higher and more stable oil prices have undoubtedly buoyed Gulf countries in 2018. While this is, in some senses, good news for the region, where oil plays such a crucial role in terms of income, it also raises important questions about the need for – and the pace of – reform. In speaking with close to 900 of the region’s executives in face-to-face interviews, the latest OBG Business Barometer: Gulf CEO Survey illuminates how the rollercoaster of the past year has impacted near-term business plans in the private sector, and how executives are factoring uncertainty into their development strategies.
According to the findings of the latest OBG Business Barometer: Oman CEO Survey, the country’s business leaders by and large perceive transparency in the local business environment to be high or very high – at about 65%. That said, 25% identify it as low, and given the government’s stated aim to increase foreign investment and improve the environment for private sector enterprises, this is something they will no doubt be keen to address. The survey also reveals what sectors CEOs identify as most influential in terms of the sultanate’s diversification strategy. Over 50% cited tourism as the sector with the greatest potential, and given the country’s natural attributes, it is clearly an area with huge potential.
While the core questions we ask the CEOs we survey for the Oxford Business Group Business Barometer essentially remain the same, enabling us to produce both regional and global analysis, we do change them a little to ring the changes, so to speak.