Business leader confidence shaken by recession
By Blaine Williams
CEO’s confidence in business has reached an all time low as top executives predict a slow, gradual recovery of the economy over the next three years.
A survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has found CEO confidence has plunged to its lowest level since 2003.
Only 21 per cent of CEO’s are confident of revenue growth in the next 12 months, down from 50 per cent in last years survey. A quarter of CEOs are pessimistic about the prospects of the coming year.
The results were released today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“The speed and intensity of the recession has rocked the psyches of CEOs and created a global crisis of confidence,” said Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., PWC’s global CEO.
Only 34 per cent said they were very confident of growth over the next three years, down from 42 per cent last year, when CEOs were just beginning to recognise the full impact of the credit crisis on the global economy.
The pessimistic outlook on economic recovery prevailed across all geographic locations, sectors and levels of economic development.
Only 15 per cent of CEOs in North America and 15 per cent in Western Europe expressed confidence about growth prospects for the next 12 months. This compared with 21 per cent in the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe, 31 per cent in Asia Pacific, and 21 per cent in Latin America.
Mr DiPiazza, Jr. added: “CEOs are most concerned about the immediate survival of their companies. Even in once rapidly emerging economies, companies are now coping with issues like unavailable credit, sluggish capital markets, and collapsing demand.
“The severity and duration of the recession is difficult to predict and CEOs are balancing the challenges of successfully managing through the downturn while also remaining prepared for economic turnaround. Their prospects for recovery are truly connected.”
The impact of the recession in the world’s major economies, cited by 85 per cent of survey respondents worldwide, continued to dominate concerns of CEOs and was the only risk factor to increase among CEOs’ concerns.
