APAC CEO optimism hits 10-year high – expect stronger global economy in 2022: PwC

• 76% predict a stronger global economy in the coming year, comparable to global CEOs.
• Relative levels of optimism vary across Asia Pacific countries - the most positive being India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. However, CEOs in China are feeling less optimistic than they were a year ago.
• Asia Pacific CEOs rank health risks (58%) as their top priority to address while global CEOs list cyber as their most pressing concern.
• Many businesses in Asia Pacific are proactive in their approach to climate commitments - outpacing their global peers in the scale and depth.
• Despite rising interest in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), strategy is still primarily driven by business metrics.

Asia Pacific CEOs continue to face pressure generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and market conditions such as rising inflation, supply chain disruptions and the ‘Great Resignation’. Despite an array of shifting headwinds, the CEOs that we surveyed in the region are the most optimistic they have been in 10 years about the prospects for a stronger economy in the coming year. 76% predict the global economy will improve, while only 17% expect worsening conditions.

This year’s optimism is an uptick of three percentage points than the 73% optimism level from a year ago and a full 41 points higher than 2020, when almost half (48%) of Asia Pacific CEOs predicted a declining economy. These are findings from PwC’s 25th Annual Global CEO Survey - Asia Pacific, which polled 4,446 global CEOs including 1,618 from Asia Pacific between October and November 2021.

Optimism is trending upwards in most countries within Asia Pacific - the most positive being India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore where ~90+% of CEOs anticipate global growth in the coming year. However, CEOs in China are feeling less optimistic than they were a year ago, down 9 points to 62%. 

Confidence in global economic growth translates to a high degree of optimism for Asia Pacific CEO’s own businesses: 50% are ‘very confident’ or ‘extremely confident’ in 12-month revenue growth prospects.

Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC said: “While the ongoing pandemic and emergence of new variants cast a shadow over the year, the high level of CEO optimism we found speaks to the strength and resilience of the global economy and the ability of CEOs to manage through uncertainty. There is nothing “normal” about the world we are working in, but we are getting used to it. We are seeing differences in confidence among countries, and there is no shortage of challenges to navigate, but it is encouraging that CEOs we spoke with on the whole feel positive about 2022.”

Health risks top Asia Pacific CEOs’ concerns

CEOs’ optimism is high for the most part, but they are also well aware of potential threats that could impact their companies over the coming 12 months.

Asia Pacific CEOs rank health risks (58%) as their top priority to address (the exception is China with only 42% of CEOs with a high level of concern over health risks). It is a clear ten percentage points higher than their global peers who list cyber as their most pressing concern. Not far behind for Asia Pacific CEOs is cyber risk (44%) and macroeconomic volatility (43%).

This difference reflects the fact that whilst Asia Pacific’s recovery is optimistic, it continues to be challenged with new, highly transmissible variants and uneven vaccination rollouts. Only China rebounded faster than the rest of the region and is now experiencing growing pains in the form of inflation, real estate bubbles, and supply chain disruptions.

Raymund Chao, PwC Asia Pacific and China Chairman, commented: “In 25 years of documenting CEO sentiment toward and reactions to transformative trends, our inaugural Asia Pacific report highlights more than ever the unique challenges facing senior executives in the region. Translating global and regional economic fundamentals into revenue growth remains the priority. What we are seeing is a diversification of those growth pathways with an increasing regional focus: goods and services produced and delivered in Asia for Asia, leveraging the very best of technology capabilities and local talent. In accessing and growing local talent pools, prioritising their health and wellbeing is key. Our findings also reveal a growing interest in embedding ESG practices into business resilience and transformation initiatives. This presents a real opportunity for business leaders to build trust and drive sustained outcomes for all - underpinning PwC’s very own New Equation strategy.

Going Green gaining momentum

Asia Pacific CEOs are ahead of their global peers in net-zero and carbon-neutral commitments: 60-69% of CEOs in the region have made, or are progressing a net-zero and/or carbon-neutral commitment - a clear 9-13% ahead of global peers. In addition to those CEOs that have made net-zero commitments, 11% more Asia Pacific CEOs (77% vs. 66% global CEOs) have had their approach independently assessed and validated. A higher proportion of Asia Pacific CEOs have also embedded these emissions targets into their strategy (43% vs. 37% global CEOs). 

Chanchai Chaiprasit, PwC Thailand CEO, said: “In the past year, businesses in Thailand have put a greater focus on ESG, but not many are currently pursuing carbon emission targets to achieve net zero. This includes large Thai and international companies, both listed and non-listed. Less than 20 of them have publicly announced net-zero commitments. 

“The companies that have committed to net zero usually conduct business in foreign countries, sell products internationally or take part in a large global supply chain. They’re more likely to have a high level of readiness in terms of scale and workforce compared with other Thai companies.”

The survey has shown a strong correlation between trust and net zero commitments based on CEO responses to a series of questions about their customers’ behaviours. Asia Pacific CEOs of companies ranked highest for trust are significantly more likely to lead organisations that have made a net zero commitment (37%) than those ranked lowest for customer trust (20%). Asia Pacific CEOs of “high-trust” companies are also more likely to lead organisations that have tied non-financial outcomes to their compensation. More than half of Asia Pacific CEOs who lead organisations ranked highest for trust have customer satisfaction (65%) and employee engagement metrics (57%) tied to their personal bonus or incentive plan.

“Still, Thai companies have made progress over the past year. They now have a greater understanding of ESG and realise the importance of driving the practice and doing more on this issue. In the near term, we expect the number of companies expressing a net-zero target to double among Thai businesses. This is due to increasing pressure from countries with clear ESG policies, not only from clients but also suppliers that operate in countries with strict ESG regulations,” Chanchai said.

Despite rising interest in climate change, non-financial outcomes as well as ESG, strategy is still primarily driven by business metrics such as customer/staff satisfaction and automation/ digitisation goals. Much less well-represented, in strategies and compensation, are targets related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and gender representation or racial and ethnic diversity: 19% or fewer of Asia Pacific CEOs have such targets in their annual bonus or long-term incentive plan.

Chanchai concluded: “Pledging a net-zero commitment is like plotting a journey. Businesses must begin by learning about ESG and consider which criteria complements their industry. The impact and framework will vary for each type of business. Although it’s clear that there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy, deciding which ESG aspects your business needs to develop is an important first step before measuring greenhouse gas emissions to determine the organisaton’s total carbon footprint.

“After that comes the plan on how to minimise our carbon emissions – taking carbon credits and tax into account – to reach carbon neutrality. All these steps will help businesses better assess the year they can achieve net-zero.”