APEC 2017: Asia-Pacific business leaders’ confidence hits three-year high

Da Nang (VNA) - Confidence in revenue growth is at its highest level for three years amongst business leaders in 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Vietnam.

PwC surveyed over 1,400 business leaders with responsibility in each of the 21 APEC economies in the run up to the annual APEC CEO Summit in Vietnam.

Results of PwC’s 2017 APEC CEO Survey, which were released in the central city of Da Nang on November 8, show that 37 percent of APEC CEOs say they are very confident of revenue growth during the next 12 months, up from 28 percent in 2016 despite trade policy uncertainty and related political tensions in many of the APEC economies.

In the next year, a net 50 percent of businesses surveyed by PwC will increase their global investments (including those outside the APEC region), up 43 percent from last year, as APEC businesses increase their foothold and influence on the global economy.

A majority of 71 percent of those surveyed who are raising investment will direct those increases into APEC economies in 2018, and 63 percent of all APEC CEOs expect their broader global footprint to expand over the next three years.

The biggest domestic investment winners will be Vietnam, Russia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Vietnam, China, Indonesia, the US and Thailand are the top APEC targets for business leaders’ overseas investment. 89 percent of Malaysian CEOs and 86 percent of Vietnam CEOs expect to expand globally

According to Dinh Thi Quynh Van, PwC Vietnam General Director said confidence levels are high among business leaders in Vietnam. This is not surprising. Close to half of foreign business investors in Vietnam (47 percent) plan to increase their investments in Vietnam over the next 12 months.

Positive sentiments can be seen in three areas; an expanding domestic economy, expectations of new growth from trade agreements and export expansion (both regional and intra-regional export growth), along with a positive outlook on innovation in key sectors of opportunity. Sustained economic reform, coupled with strengthened public institutions and an emphasis on education and skills development will be crucial to make Vietnam fit for the future, she said. -VNA