Grant Thornton and ECM Libra collaborate on International Business Owners Survey

 

7 November 2005 . Accounting and consulting firm Shamsir Jasani Grant Thornton, the local member of Grant Thornton International will be collaborating with premier boutique investment advisory group, ECM Libra Berhad to launch Grant Thornton International's International Business Owners Survey 2006 (IBOS).

Now in its fourth year, the IBOS survey is conducted annually by Grant Thornton member firms, providing a global insight into a variety of issues affecting business owners from medium to large entrepreneurial businesses around the world. Key issues to be explored include economic prospects, business expectations, operating in foreign markets, importing and exporting trends and stress among business owners.

As the only survey of its type, IBOS provides a valuable source of global business information, gauging the opinions of senior management such as the Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers, business owners or other senior executives on their economic outlook and company expectations for the coming 12 months.

“Our firm is proud to team up with ECM Libra for this research project which will see Malaysia participating for the first time. We will be joining 29 other countries that include all G8 and the majority of the World Bank's top 20 economies,” said Dato' N K Jasani, Managing Partner of Shamsir Jasani Grant Thornton.

“Over 7,000 interviews will be conducted independently by the *30 participating countries across all industry sectors. This will account for 86% of the EU's GDP and 79% of global GDP,” he added.

Mr Lim Kian Onn, Chief Executive Officer of ECM Libra Berhad said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Shamsir Jasani Grant Thornton for this survey. Medium to large entrepreneur businesses form a very important segment of our economy and the findings will certainly help highlight their concerns and offer possible remedies.”

Dato' Jasani highlighted that this survey is focused on medium to large business enterprises (MLEs), i.e. one stage ahead of the small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The MLE category will not only include the private companies but also the public listed companies where significant ownership can be identified with certain individuals. These category forms the biggest portion of our economy and one which works efficiently due to the direct interest of the stakeholders.

Whilst the Government is doing its best to spur the economy, Malaysia has yet to achieve the higher growth rates of the early 90s. The survey will certainly help highlight the areas of concerns for business owners from medium to large businesses here and thus, help the nation prioritise accordingly.

For the first time, IBOS 2006 will include questions and participation from China – a country of worldwide focus and attention. Apart from Malaysia and China, other countries new to the survey include Thailand, Argentina, Botswana and Luxembourg.

The research will be conducted by Grant Thornton's 2 core research partners, Harris Interactive and Experian Business Strategies, with fieldwork running throughout the closing stages of 2005. The first findings on economic optimism/pessimism will be available early in the New Year. Full results are expected to be ready by April 2006 and will be issued in printed format and supported by an interactive website.

* International Business Owners Survey 2006 – Participating Countries