DOHA: Qatar has seen a drop in consumer confidence, but the country remained optimistic during the economic downturn, studies conducted by three different agencies have revealed.

The HSBC Gulf Business Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2009 has shown Qatar further falling in confidence in the first quarter. The Q1 of 2009 has shown that the overall index has moved from 70.3 in the final quarter of 2008 to 69.7 in the first quarter of 2009, a continuing trend, but far less than the 22 point fall seen in Q4 last year.

A joint research conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov meanwhile revealed a dip in consumer confidence of 8.9 points compared to an improvement registered in the last survey conducted in

November 2008. Despite the drop, job seekers are still optimistic of the future with 32 percent of Qatar’s respondents believing business conditions — and 30 percent believing the country’s economy — will improve in the next year, the Bayt.com-YouGov research revealed. “Business people are in no doubt as to the cause of their lack of confidence: an overwhelming 42 percent cite “the economy generally” as the greatest challenge to their business this year. As to the duration of the slowdown, 28 percent believe things will not turn around for a year, while 20 percent feel it will be two years before circumstances improve, and a further 20 percent believe it will take longer than two years for the economy to recover”, the

HSBC report said.

The survey measured responses by sector, with some sharp differences in outlook and responses to the slowdown. When asked about investment budgets in 2009, half of businesses in the automotive and retail sectors said it would shrink; while in the consumer goods, industrials and banking sectors over half foresee growth in investments.

The Bayt.com-YouGov report said the trend of falling consumer confidence was repeated across the Gulf. However, almost a third of all respondents in Qatar, (29 percent ) felt that they were better off than last year, indicating that the gloomy financial environment isn’t negatively affecting everyone in the country. Overall, on a regional level, a quarter of respondents felt they were better off; 34 percent felt they were worse off, and 35 percent felt their financial position hadn’t changed.

Qatar’s respondents were among the most optimistic in the Gulf, with 30% believing things would get better within their country’s economy. In Qatar, respondents were again markedly optimistic on the future of their personal finances, with 40 percent saying things would be better, just 10 percent stating things would be worse and 28 percent believing status

would prevail. Employee confidence dropped significantly around the GCC, with the biggest dip in Bahrain, moving down the index by a massive 20.0 points, closely followed by Kuwait with a drop of 19.5 points and the UAE dropping 18.0 points. Qatar was the least affected in the Gulf, but still registered a decrease of 13.0 points.

On salary increase, 29 percent of respondents in Qatar said their salary had increased in proportion to the rising cost of living, while at the other end of the spectrum, just over half of respondents in Qatar, 56 percent, believed salaries had not kept pace that suggested Qatar is not quite as badly affected as other markets at this time. In Qatar, 23 percent believe job availability will be better by next year. THE PENINSULA