The Ministry of Industry & Commerce has today released the results of a survey conducted amongst a selected group of Chief Executive officers in Bahrain. The survey results are combined in a Chief Executive Officers’ Confidence Index , which aims at measuring the confidence level which CEOs have in the economy over time. The project, which was launched in June 2004, included over 100 CEOs chosen by the Ministry to cover all sectors and company types.
The index which will be issued on a quarterly basis, and published in the local press, is being prepared independently by a specialist consulting firm, InCite, who have been contracted by the Ministry to produce the index. .
The survey form includes 6 questions with respondents being requested to choose the level of their confidence in a range from ‘Much less confident’ to ‘Much more confident’. CEOs were also asked to identify particular difficulties they are facing, and any suggestions they have for improvement. The results of these questions have been aggregated to form an index based on a maximum score of 100.
The Ministry believes that this information will be useful, not only to the market participants in identifying market trends, but also as a tool for planning, since respondents are also asked to identify areas for improvement, and specific difficulties which they are facing in their particular businesses and sectors.
The results of the first survey indicate that CEOs believe the economy to be running at a speed of 66 from a maximum of 100, but have slightly higher confidence in their particular companies, presenting a speed of 73. In terms of their respective economic sectors, CEO have identified a speed of 68. The aggregation of the three speeds provides an overall view of the confidence level for this quarter as represented by a speed of 69 from a maximum of 100
The Ministry would on this occasion, like to offer its’ thanks to all those companies who have participated in the survey, and to encourage other CEOs to participate in future waves of the survey.