More than half of Costa Rican small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain optimistic about growth in spite of the global economic downturn and reports of slow recovery, a new survey suggests.
According to U.S. delivery company UPS´s Business Monitor Latin America (BMLA) released this week in Miami, more than half (51 percent) of Tico executives surveyed projected economic progress for their companies over the course of the next 12 months. The region´s overall percentage was 47 percent – a considerable drop from last year´s 84 percent.
Higher still were expectations of SME leaders in countries such as Colombia (62 percent), Brazil (54 percent) and the Dominican Republic (54 percent).
Fifty-one percent predict an uptick in global trade.
“The results from the latest BMLA study demonstrate that although Latin American SMEs are enduring a difficult business climate, they are looking forward to continued growth down the line,” said Stephen Flowers, UPS Americas President, according to newswire EFE.
The BMLA surveyed more than 900 leading SME executives in eight Latin American countries.
However, a more sober projection came about in relation to the impact of the United States´ volatile economy: 69 percent said trouble up north will have a negative impact on their business this year, while 61 percent don´t foresee the U.S. economy improving before 2010.
