Most CEOs expect global growth to improve: PwC survey

As many as 77 per cent of chief executive officers (CEO) expect global economic growth to improve this year while only 15 per cent anticipate weaker conditions, as per a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey revealed yesterday.

The prevalence of positivity during the annual global CEO survey run in October and November of 2021 was "the highest figure on record since 2012, when we began asking CEOs how they felt about the economy's potential", said the PwC.

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Optimism about the global economy trends higher compared to last year in India, Japan, United Kingdom, France and Italy and somewhat lower in the US, China, Brazil and Germany, said the report. The CEOs identified the US as the most important growth destination globally over the next 12 months, followed by China.

As a part of its survey, the PwC polled 4,446 CEOs, including around 22 from Bangladesh, across 89 countries and territories.

However, 49 per cent of the CEOs are most concerned about cyber risks while 48 per cent on the global health situation as the pandemic lingers.

With the exception of social inequality, the CEOs were most concerned about the potential of each threat to disrupt revenue, said the report.

Despite rising interest in environment, social and governance, most of the CEOs report only having non-financial outcomes closely related to business performance included in their long-term strategy. Much less well represented, in strategies and compensation, are targets related to greenhouse gas emissions and gender representation or racial and ethnic diversity.

For example, 13 per cent or fewer of the CEOs have such targets in their annual bonus or long-term incentive plan, the report said.

Around 22 per cent of global companies have made a net-zero commitment, said the PwC.