2024-07-23 09:07:31
Meeting on the sidelines of the conference to present the results of the EY Barometer 2024, which was recently held at the company’s premises, Mounir Ghazali, EY partner, reviewed the main findings of the survey and provided his insights on the expectations and perceptions of businesses in Tunisia.
The barometer results highlight the importance of resilience as a characteristic of Tunisian corporate savings. At the same time, uncertainty, especially regarding the international situation, remains and has even increased. Is this resilience enough for companies to ensure continuity or even develop their activities?
I think the statements by the different employer representatives here today, especially from Connect or other employer organizations, conveyed exactly that: Yes, we are resilient, yes, we adapt. But it comes at a cost. That resilience comes at the cost of our ability to invest more, to do research and development, to move upmarket. We’ve been experiencing that cost for more than a decade. So it’s starting to weigh on us. Business leaders are saying we have to act now because this period has gone on for too long.
Comparing this edition of the Barometer with the previous two, we find that, despite concerns among businesses about the country’s economic and social conditions, optimism has risen. How can we explain this paradox?
Basically, these results highlight the optimistic signals felt by companies. We found an increase in the percentage of business leaders who believe that the economic, social and political situation is improving compared to the results for 2023 and especially compared to 2021. When we asked them about their expectations for the evolution of the economic, social and political situation, in this case they sent such a message by estimating that the situation will deteriorate rather than improve.
I think the message they’re conveying is that they don’t see signs that the situation is improving.
In your opinion, what solutions can improve the business environment and stimulate corporate recovery (which is one of the top priorities for businesses)?
Economic recovery necessarily requires investment. Without investment, there is no economic recovery. When we say investment, there are two sectors involved: the public sector and the private sector. If private business leaders need confidence in the future and stable investment, the public sector is sovereign and can make investment decisions without the need for confidence. I think that in this case, it has a driving role. But the public sector has limited budget profits and cannot make investments. That is why it is necessary to differentiate priorities while sending very strong messages.
What we saw when we presented the barometer results is that public investment in renewable energy can send a very strong message to the private sector. In fact, we talked about different topics. We discussed the topic of Steg, which is an important player in the field because it manages the country’s electricity and gas distribution networks.
If the company expands its network to areas affected by the self-production regime as well as the remote self-production regime (and it is an excellent regime with a very encouraging legal text), and if it manages to make these regimes de facto supported by state-backed project financing, private investment will follow.
Moreover, it is important to remember that investments in renewable energy can, firstly, reduce the energy bills of companies, thus increasing their competitiveness, and secondly, reduce energy imports, thus reducing the trade balance deficit. This is equivalent to reducing the foreign exchange we need to spend on these energy imports. This is a historic opportunity for Tunisia. I believe that the public sector has an important role to play, and I am sure that the private sector will also play a role.
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