According to the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) for the fourth quarter of 2011, Turkey's business leaders are more confident regarding the prospects of the domestic economy than most of their European counterparts.

Turkey ranked 19th out of 40 countries in terms of optimism expressed by the countries' businesses regarding their domestic economies over the next 12 months.

While 62 percent of businesses in Turkey expect to increase employment rates and employ a greater number of staff than they currently do over the next 12 months, according to the report, 49 percent of businesses in Turkey cite local transportation infrastructure as constraining their ability to grow.

The report predicts that growth prospects in mature markets look weak for 2012, that emerging markets will drive the global economy and that the shift in economic power from “West to East” will continue to speed up.

Turkey ranked above many of its European counterparts in the report, including Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and France. Regionally, businesses in Latin America are the most positive. In the BRIC economies -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- optimism for the year ahead averaged 47 percent compared to just 14 percent of businesses from the G7 group, which includes France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and Canada.

The report found that the businesses with the most optimistic outlooks are those in emerging economies such as India, the Philippines and Chile. Business confidence also remains high in the United Arab Emirates, suggesting that confidence has not been damaged unduly by the Arab Spring of 2011.

The troubled PIGS economies -- Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain -- remain pessimistic about the year ahead, with Greece and Spain in particular facing difficult economic conditions.

Launched in 1992 in nine European countries, the IBR report is now in its 20th year, surveying 11,500 businesses in 40 economies across the globe on an annual basis and providing insight on the economic and commercial issues affecting both listed and privately owned businesses.

Cihan