Saudi business community displays mixed sentiments in Q3 2013

​Highlights:

• Composite BOI for the hydrocarbon sector gains 8 points to stand at 39, up from 31 in Q2 2013
• Although the Composite BOI for the non-hydrocarbon sector witnesses a cyclical decline of 6 points to 49 from 55 in Q2 2013, yet Y-o-Y comparison reveals higher BOI levels in Q3, 2013 when compared with the same period last year
• Within the non-hydrocarbon sector, Transportation, Construction & Manufacturing sectors have higher optimism levels for Q3, 2013 compared with other sectors
• Construction and Business Service sectors are most optimistic on hiring, while Transportation firms have high optimism on profitability
• Petrochemical manufacturing firms have higher optimism compared with non-petrochemical manufacturing units 
• The outlook of hotels & restaurants has declined by 19 points reaching 31 points while wholesale & retail trading firms hold a stable outlook for the coming quarter
• Majority of the respondents in the non-hydrocarbon sector (61%) and hydrocarbon sector (67%) do not foresee any negative factors which could impact business operations in Q3 2013 
• Investment outlook of Saudi businesses remains steady with a majority (51%) of
  respondents planning to invest in business expansion

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