Armenian businessmen have shown an increase in the level of their optimism for the year 2011, showing a significant positive swing equal to +48% against the last year’s +32%, according to the 2011 Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR).

Confidence levels over economic performance are higher in Latin America than any other part of the world. 2011 is the first year Latin America has led the world on optimism with a balance of +75% of privately held business owners being optimistic about their region’s economic performance.

Elsewhere, optimism in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) is at +50%, whilst in North America it is just +26%, with Europe the least optimistic region at +22%.

Businesses in Germany are the most optimistic in the Eurozone at +75% – an optimism which has surged over the past year (2010: +38%), the press service of Grant Thornton Amyot reported.