Business conditions in Oman will improve by next year: Survey

MUSCAT: A large number of respondents of a survey believe that the Sultanate’s business conditions will get better by next year.
According to a latest survey on consumer confidence, 43 per cent are largely optimistic about the future, expecting business conditions to ‘get better’ in a year’s time.
As many as 38 per cent of the respondents in Oman have a positive outlook on the future of the country’s economy, according to a survey on consumer confidence.
The survey was conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site, and YouGov, a leading market research agency, among 3,905 respondents in the Middle East region. Also, 31 per cent of Oman respondents believe that business conditions are either ‘good’ or ‘very good,’ while 25 per cent believe that business conditions are ‘bad.’
Besides, 15 per cent of Oman respondents believe that the country’s economy has ‘improved’ in the last six months, while nearly half of the respondents (46 per cent) believe that it has ‘receded.’ However, almost a third of the respondents (32 per cent) expect the economy to ‘improve’ in the next six months, compared to the 27 per cent of the respondents who expect it to ‘get worse’.
Economic situation
According to 49 per cent of poll respondents in Oman, their financial situation is the ‘same as six months ago’ (17 per cent say it is ‘better’ than it was six months ago, while 24 per cent claim that it is ‘worse’). The outlook is somewhat positive though: 38 per cent of respondents believe that their personal financial situation will ‘improve’ in the next six months. When it comes to the cost of living in the next six months, 74 per cent of respondents expect it to increase, while 14 per cent expect the cost of living to ‘remain the same’.
Nearly half of Oman respondents (49 per cent) say that their savings have ‘declined’ when compared to last year. On the other hand, 14 per cent of Oman respondents claim that their savings have ‘increased’, while 31 per cent reveal that their savings have ‘remained the same.’
Consumer spending
As many as 33 per cent of those surveyed in Oman are planning to invest in a motor vehicle in the next 12 months. Of those, 43 per cent are planning to buy a new vehicle, while 34 per cent are planning to buy a used one. More than half of (56 per cent) of respondents from are not planning on purchasing a vehicle.
When it comes to investing in property, 18 per cent of respondents in Oman are planning to invest in the next 12 months. Of those who are planning to buy property, 39 per cent will invest in an ‘apartment’, while 23 per cent plan to buy a ‘villa/townhouse/bungalow’ and 26 per cent will purchase ‘commercial property’. The majority (61 per cent) of the respondents who are planning to invest in property in Oman plan to buy new property in the next 12 months, while 16 per cent will invest in pre-owned property.
Regarding consumer goods, 20 per cent of Oman residents plan to purchase a ‘tablet or smartphone’ in the next six months, while one in five (20 per cent) will invest in a ‘desktop or laptop’.
Presently, 23 per cent of respondents surveyed believe that there are plenty of jobs available in Oman, with11 per cent claiming availability across multiple industries and 12 per cent claiming availability across a limited number of industries. Also, 19 per cent of respondents in Oman expect the job availability to ‘increase’ in the next six months.
A quarter of employed respondents feel that the number of employees in their companies over the past six months has ‘increased’, while 35 per cent believe the opposite to be true. Over the course of the next six months, 27 per cent of employed Oman respondents expect the number of employees in their organisation to ‘increase’.
“While the region as a whole has seen a relative dip in consumer confidence, future expectations amongst respondents remain positive and bright,” said Suhail Masri, vice-president of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “At Bayt.com there are currently more than 10,000 jobs posted on the website on any given day.
Jobseeker registration on our website is growing at over 12,000 new professionals a day and continues to reflect a healthy appetite for jobs across the industrial and career spectrum”
Elissavet Vraka, research manager, YouGov, said: “Gauging consumer opinion is a powerful tool for revealing the current attitudes and sentiments about the business and economic conditions in a specific country. Despite the positive outlook on the future, the rising cost of living is negatively impacting residents’ ability to save.”
Data for the Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index survey was collected online from January 27 to February 10, 2016, with 3,905 respondents from the UAE, Saudi Arabai, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.