The opening note from PwC’s 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey that was published yesterday ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos makes for interesting reading. The survey, conducted between September and October of 2019 asked 1,581 chief executives in 83 countries their forecast for the coming year.
It states: What a difference two years can make. In 2018, PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey revealed a record level of optimism regarding worldwide economic growth. This year, as CEOs look ahead to 2020, we see a record level of pessimism. For the first time, more than half of the CEOs we surveyed believe the rate of global GDP growth will decline. This caution has translated into CEOs’ low confidence in their own organisation’s outlook. Only 27% of CEOs are ‘very confident’ in their prospects for revenue growth in 2020, a low level not seen since 2009.
The survey found that 53% of those CEOs interviewed predicted that the global growth will fall, nearly double the number a year before, this being the highest level of pessimism since PWC started asking that particular question in 2012. When asked what globally concerned the CEOs most in the coming months, over-regulation came out as the biggest worry, followed by trade conflicts, then uncertain economic growth. Here in the UK cyber threats came out as the biggest fear.
The chief executives were also asked which countries they saw as the best place for business growth. Unsurprisingly, the US came out on top, followed by China and Germany. However, fourth place was a 3-way tie between Australia, India and the UK, indicating that here in the UK at least, those at the top of the ladder believe that now the Brexit tussle has been sorted (for the moment at least) planning and investment can be made with more confidence.
One area that the CEOs do recognise greater opportunities is in climate change initiatives. Ten years ago globally, 13% of those interviewed said they saw opportunities with climate change, today that figure 25%. As Global Chairman of PwC, Bob Moritz, put it ‘Changes in technology, policy and consumer behaviour will create new opportunities for success for those agile organisations who are able to develop differentiating capabilities in the area of data privacy, upskilling and sustainability’.