7 March 2013

A survey to gauge the 'mood' of top executives at more than 280 companies in Qatar has been launched and the findings of the study will be sent to the World Economic Forum (WEF) by May 1, the organisers yesterday said. The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) in collaboration with Qatar University's Social Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) announced the launch of the 'Executive Opinion Survey' at a press conference yesterday. The QBA and SESRI will send the results of the survey to Geneva by May 1, and the WEF would release the findings later in September.

Al Faisal Holding vice chairman Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani said that the QBA and SESRI are strategic partners of the WEF for the second time in a row. He said the 'Competitiveness Report' studies the 12 competitive pillars for 144 countries and provides a comprehensive picture of the competitiveness in countries around the world at all stages of its development. These pillars include institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, in addition to the goods market efficiency and the labour market efficiency and other pillars.

Currently, Qatar leads the Arab world and the Middle Eastern countries for the third consecutive year to rank 11th on the Global Competitiveness Index that is declared in the World Economic Forum's annual report for this year. According to the report, the competitive advantage of Qatar depends on the strong foundations of institutional frameworks, stable economic environment and an effective goods market, in addition to the absence of corruption, presence of security and financial stability. SESRI director Dr Darwish al-Emadi said that about 280 companies will be approached, out of which 100 companies are expected to respond to the survey.

An effort to include executives of big and small, old and new companies is being made. When asked whether this would again paint a rosy picture of the business environment without taking into account the facts and ground realities, the director said the survey was about gauging the 'mood' of the executives. "(In business,) perception is reality, it defines the business climate and is very important information (for stakeholders)," he said. Questions in the survey will include whether the infrastructure built by the state is helping the businessmen; whether the rules and regulations of business help or hinder the executives, etc.

QBA deputy general manager Sarah Abdullah said the survey is not an attempt at making a detailed analysis , but only an effort at data collection which will be sent to the WEF. "This is not a fact collection exercise. It's an assessment of the opinions of executives, which we don't alter in any way and forward it to the WEF," she said. When asked why the ministry of trade or finance is not carrying out the survey, Abdullah said it was one of the requirements of WEF that the survey be carried out by a non-governmental body such as the QBA in order to avoid conflict of interests.

© Gulf Times 2013