Singapore CEOs confident about growth in business and economy

CEOs in Singapore join their global counterparts to look at the near future with optimism – confident in their own business and in wider economic prospects, according to PwC’s latest CEO Survey. 

More than 5,000 global executives participated in PwC’s survey, and the findings reveal a sunny outlook. Three-quarters of respondents worldwide expect economic growth to improve this year – mirrored by 75% of CEOs in Singapore. 

“After going through the past year of crisis and significant stress on our economy and society, it is encouraging to see that CEOs in Singapore are becoming more confident about growth prospects,” said PwC Singapore executive chairman Yeoh Oon Jin. 

There is enough encouragement on offer. Vaccine rollouts are advancing worldwide, and economies in Asia Pacific and around the world have long reopened. But it’s not just macro trends that CEOs are confident about. Over a third of CEOs around the world are ‘very confident’ that their own business will prosper this year – matched by 34% in Singapore. 

And this is despite facing unprecedented challenges across all business functions – virtual working, consumer behaviour, supply chains, etc. – many of which persist well into this year, and will likely continue. But businesses were quick to adapt, particularly via heavy digital investment – as explained by Jin.

“CEOs have had to rethink and reconfigure their strategies and transformation plans, with many accelerating digitisation of their businesses. Those who have the agility to transform and pivot quickly are generally seeing better results.”

Despite a sense of confidence, though, Jin highlights the changes that will continue unfolding in market conditions in the near future, and the long road ahead for businesses to stay resilient, adaptable and sustainable. 

“CEOs now face two fundamental challenges: first, how to build trust with a broad range of stakeholders, whose expectations of business are higher than ever before; and second, how to adapt their businesses and deliver sustainable outcomes in a rapidly changing environment.” 

“Organisations that get this right will be best placed to come out of the pandemic as winners with strong, resilient and productive businesses,” he concluded.