Saudi business confidence reaches eight-month high | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi business confidence reaches eight-month high | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

"January data indicated a subdued start to the year for non-oil private sector companies, with output growth continuing to slow from November’s 10-month peak, according to the Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). 

Survey respondents commented on softer rises in new business intakes following the VAT introduction in January. However, reports from non-oil businesses suggested that the impact on sales was likely to prove transitory, with part of the slowdown simply reflecting a natural payback following strong order flows prior to the policy implementation. With private sector firms continuing to experience resilient demand fundamentals, staff hiring picked up to its strongest since August 2016 and business optimism reached an eight-month high.

The survey, sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit, contains original data collected from a monthly survey of business conditions in the Saudi private sector."



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