UAE businesses are planning to increase their revenues by as much as 50 percent and hire more staff in the next 12 months as the local economy bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey conducted by HSBC. 

The results of the study released on Tuesday showed that three out of four UAE companies have plans to recruit additional employees in the coming months. About eight out of ten companies are already making significant investments in hiring, upskilling or training.  

The research comes as business conditions in the country continue to improve on the back of easing COVID-19 restrictions and reopening of international travel.

According to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), the UAE’s non-oil private sector economy showed “robust improvement” in September as output and new orders rose strongly. 

In HSBC’s survey, the majority (97 percent) of business leaders see remote working as critical to an optimal working arrangement in the months ahead, closely in line with the views of their global peers (95 percent). 

“The companies involved in our research in the UAE are targeting roughly 25 percent revenue growth on average over the next 12 months,” said Daniel Howlett, regional head of commercial banking for HSBC in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. 

“Our new [research] shows clearly that executives believe the battle for talent is vital to driving sustainable profitability, particularly as companies bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. 

However, 65 percent of businesses agree that managing costs will remain the biggest challenge in the coming months. But they also expect hybrid working would make it easier to manage cost challenges (77 percent), improve staff productivity (76 percent) and enhance profitability (76 percent). 

UAE businesses are also the most confident globally about driving innovation in product and customer service (67 percent) over the next 12 months. About 74 percent are optimistic about improving customer experience, third highest globally after Mexico (77 percent) and China (77 percent). 

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) 

Cleofe.maceda@refinitiv.com 

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