OREANDA-NEWS. June 02, 2010. Deloitte CIS and the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia are proud to present the third in our series of quarterly surveys. Conducted by Deloitte on behalf of AmCham, the surveys aim to identify current trends in the Russian market, reported the press-centre of Deloitte.

Our surveys are carried out among over 700 AmCham member companies and look at key short-term indicators, such as investment activity, inventory levels, headcount and new business activity.

The third in our series of surveys has identified a continuing sentiment of stability. As with the last survey, 50% of respondents expect new business activity to remain stable over the next 3 months. It appears that companies operating in Russia have now adapted to the current environment, with a large number of respondents (45%) noting that they intend to increase their activities over the coming quarter.

On the back of this feeling of stability, many companies are taking the opportunity to step up investment plans. While 48% intend to retain the same level of investment, 40% of respondents expect to increase investment programs over the coming quarter.

Our latest survey has also noted signs of an upward trend in the employment market. Whereas over the last quarter respondents kept their headcount levels stable (60%), 38% expect to take on more employees in the next 3 months.

This theme of stability and signs of growth continued with inventory supplies: over the next quarter, 49% of respondents expect to keep inventory levels stable, while 16% are planning to purchase more stock to boost their inventories.

We find the results of this survey very encouraging. Over the last half of the year, businesses have adapted to the new market conditions, switching from survival mode to enjoy a period of stability. Particularly over the last quarter, companies have used this stability to reassess investment plans and reconsider strategies. A number of respondents noted that activities across all of our key indicators will increase and we see this shift from stability to growth as extremely positive for the market.