Insights

Thailand’s business leaders once again show modest, but increasing, levels of business confidence when compared with their counterparts across APAC and around the world, according to Grant Thornton’s global research for H2 2020. The study also reveals especially high levels of economic uncertainty, along with the widespread belief that the Thai government could play a greater role in the country’s economic recovery moving forward.

Grant Thornton’s global research reveals that the business confidence among company leaders in APAC stands at 62%, a remarkably high total for a region that has been badly affected by the slowdown in international travel. This total is 6 percentage points higher than in H2 2019, and a full 15 percentage points above H1 2020 levels. The high level of confidence is especially notable because the same group of respondents also predicted a worsening of several key business constraints over the coming 12-month period.

H2 2020 brought significant improvements in business confidence around the world, according to Grant Thornton’s global research. The change includes a 14% rise in global business confidence over the corresponding H1 2020 totals, alongside double-digit increases in several related categories. Survey respondents from across the business world likewise indicated their intention to increase investment across multiple areas over the next 12 months.

As a new and unpredictable decade dawns, the business world looks forward with its optimism largely intact, according to Grant Thornton’s latest International Business Report (IBR). Leaders in mid-market companies around the world delivered an average optimism score of 59% in H2 2019, a rise of 3% over the first half of the year. This modest improvement is an encouraging contrast to the two consecutive declines that preceded it, although there remains a long way to climb before reaching H1 2018’s high of 69% global optimism.

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