Grant Thornton Publishes New Study on Business Optimism

Despite the fact that the number of business leaders in Russia who feel optimistic for the outlook of the country’s economy has grown from 17% to 28%, Russia is the second most pessimistic country in the world according to the International Business Report published by Grant Thornton. This may mean that the level of optimism in Russia amid the pandemic is growing slower than in other countries, given that last year our country was closer to the middle of the list. The optimism index incorporates the results of the survey of more than 5,000 business leaders in 33 countries.

The least optimistic trio has changed. Japan (17%), which has always been pessimistic, is followed by Russia (28%) and Argentina (30%), which replaced South Korea (38%). Sweden, which had an index of 17% last year, is surprisingly high in the list this year having scored 75%.

The most optimistic countries are also different from last year. Only China remained in the top three. It is accompanied by the United States (83%) and Indonesia (78%).

The global optimism index increased from 43% in 2020 to 69%.

Business optimism is not always directly associated with money. Countries where business leaders are sure that their profit will grow are not the same as those mentioned as the most optimistic: Brazil (75%), South Africa (71%) and Thailand (69%). However, Russia is still the second least optimistic country here. Nevertheless, 40% of Russian business leaders still hope to increase their revenue in the nearest future.

About 55% of Russians expect to get a pay rise, but most people are sure that this will not affect their disposable income. Only 7% disagree with that thought. Employment does not give cause for optimism either. Just 30% of Russian leaders plan to create more jobs, the third worst result in the world.

Optimism varies across industries as follows: the financial sector, mass media, retail, agriculture and utilities are the most confident sectors (in descending order of optimism). Traditionally pessimistic education and healthcare joined by tourism since last year are the least confident sectors. The oil and gas industry also ended up among outsiders despite being usually optimistic.