Optimism grows among entrepreneurs
Businesspeople in Greece appeared much more optimistic in the latter half of 2019 about the next 12 months, though this optimism was not reflected in earnings or sales, let alone salaries. At the same time, signs of a global slowdown were clear to see in Greek enterprises’ export expectations, which posted a decline in July-December 2019, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report.
The company’s researchers found that Greek entrepreneurs’ optimism rose from 44 percent in the first half of 2019 to 68 percent in the second, and the economic uncertainty index declined from 47 percent to 39 percent.
Despite the positive sentiment and optimism, entrepreneurs expect both their revenues and earnings to remain at the same level as in the previous six-month period.
Greek businesspeople appeared more pessimistic about exports in particular in the second half of 2019, as their expectations declined to 52 percent from 49 percent in the first half. This is to a great extent related to the general decline in the mood among European entrepreneurs from 50 percent to 45 percent, mainly attributed to Brexit.
