Odd one out: ASEAN CEOs extremely optimistic despite sluggish global growth

But CEOs in other regions aren’t so upbeat.

The optimism of ASEAN CEOs stands out in stark contrast to the negativity of their peers in other regions, a PwC’s 18th Annual CEO Survey revealed.

PwC’s survey showed that 49% of CEOs in the ASEAN are anticipating improvements in the economy, while the global average slipped to 37% from 44% last year.

Alarmingly, 17% of CEOs across the globe believe that global economic growth will decline, more than twice as many as the 7% recorded a year ago. The remaining 44% expect economic conditions to remain steady.

In spite of this bleak backdrop, the optimism of ASEAN CEOs is unassailable. Regionally, ASEAN CEOs are more confident of revenue growth at 47% when compared with the global average of 39%.

In the longer term, 54% of ASEAN CEOs are very confident of their own company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next three years – higher than the global average of 49%.

On top of this, 71% of ASEAN CEOs said that there are more growth opportunities for their company today than there were three years ago, again higher than the global average of 61%.