Business optimism rises in Russia

Optimism rises among Russia's large and medium-sized business owners as their pessimism has dropped to 4%, according to a Deloitte study. It is noted that this indicator has fallen to an absolute low since the beginning of 2015.

Among 76 CFOs surveyed, 56% are reported to be optimistic about the future. "We can say that representatives of Russian business are confident that the crisis caused by COVID-19 has been overcome,” the RBC cited the study as saying.

In addition, in the first half of this year, 82% of survey participants expect income growth, while only 40% of respondents had such expectations in the same period last year.

Also, more than half of the respondents said they plan to hire additional staff members, 72% of respondents named digitalization a priority business strategy.