CEOs more optimistic about global economic prospect

DAVOS - Chief Executive Officers (CEO) around the world are more optimistic about the global economic prospect, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Among the 1,344 CEOs surveyed in 68 countries, 44 percent of them are optimistic about the global economic improvement over the next 12 months, doubling the data of the previous year, a survey by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed.

In contrast, the CEOs are less optimistic about their own business prospect. "Moreover, CEOs are still cautious about whether greater global growth will translate into growth for their own companies," the PwC said in a report.

"CEOs are coming out of survival mode, but the search for growth is getting increasingly complicated as the global economy gradually rebalances itself."

The efforts made by governments to balance reform with growth turned out to be a common concern among CEOs. An overwhelming majority of 72 percent CEOs considered over-regulation as the top potential threat to their organizations' growth prospect.

CEOs were not only worried about sluggish growth in advanced economies but also a slowdown in the emerging economies, said the report.

In a rebalancing world, they believed that three transformative global trends including technological advances, demographic shifts and shift in global economic power would transform their business the most over the next five years.

It was also found that CEOs generally pinned their hope for growth on innovation.

"Most also want to improve their companies' ability to innovate: 86 percent aim to alter their R&D functions, while 88 percent are exploring better ways of using and managing big data and 90 percent are changing their technology investments," the report said.

The PwC unveiled the result of its 17th Annual Global CEO Survey in Davos one day before the annual World Economic Forum is to open. The forum will last till Saturday.