UAE mid-market growth outlook subject to economic uncertainties

UAE mid-market growth outlook subject to economic uncertainties

Despite improved demand conditions, the UAE’s mid-market firms are not invulnerable to external market challenges

- Mid-market firms in the UAE must gear up to face potentially choppy business conditions

- Macroeconomic challenges including inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain delays are impacting already thin profit margins

- The GCC’s economies are projected to grow 6.9 per cent in 2022 before moderating to 3.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent in 2023 and 2024, according to the World Bank

- The growth forecast is however, caveated by geo-political risks such as the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s zero-Covid policy

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Dubai, UAE: Mid-market players in the UAE’s services and manufacturing industries remain shielded from the debilitating effects of the global economic downturn and surging cost pressures, at least for the time being.

Higher hydrocarbons revenues and the government’s agile leadership and response to economic severities have allowed businesses in the country to withstand financial shocks and outperform many of their global peers.

But experts are concerned that if the market does not improve, the outlook could darken over the coming months.

“The fact of the matter is that there are headwinds. We cannot deny or ignore this,” says Hind Eisa Salim, executive vice-president and