Indian CEOs optimistic about economic growth outlook: KPMG report

About 84% CEOs surveyed are planning to invest significantly in cyber security over next three years

Indian CEOs are confident about the growth prospects of the country over the next three years, compared to that of global economy, according to a KPMG report.

Besides, more than half of the respondents believe their organisation will be completely transformed in the next three years, the report said.

Further, they believe technology will be one of the top factors impacting growth of their organisations in the next three years. Yet 53 per cent respondents are struggling to keep pace with the rate of technological innovation in their sectors.

According to the KPMG CEO Outlook, based on the inputs of over 130 Indian CEOs in navigating an increasingly complex and highly dynamic business ecosystem, 88 per cent of CEOs believe in better growth prospects for India compared to that of global economy in medium term.

Overall geopolitical uncertainties in the global economy and growing instances of protectionism, especially in the West, have probably contributed to a dip in the confidence towards the global economy, the report noted.

About 84 per cent CEOs surveyed are planning to invest significantly in cyber security over the next three years. However, last year, cyber security did not appear in the top five priorities for Indian CEOs.

"CEOs now wish to be more strategic about their spend on cyber, as one in every two CEOs say they need to become smarter in tracking the impact of related investments in cyber on the overall organisation," the report noted.

"In this year findings, Indian CEOs have mentioned that in the face of new challenges and uncertainties, they are now feeling urgency to Disrupt and Grow.

"Similar to last year, more than half the CEOs expect that organisation to be transformed into a significantly different entity over the next three years," said Arun Kumar, Chairman and CEO, KPMG in India.

Kumar said that Indian CEOs continue to focus on innovating their products and services, changing internal processes, adopting new technologies and building a resilient organisation and most CEOs see this disruption as an opportunity, rather than a threat.

"Majority of the CEOs are upbeat about the growth of the Indian economy. Optimism about India's growth is higher than that for the global economy. The CEOs are now willing to build partnerships, collaborate with others and merge or acquire to gain relevant competencies which is a welcoming change," Kumar said.

With data fast becoming a catalyst to derive insight- driven value, predict future, and reorganise capabilities to achieve strategic goals, especially during uncertain time, 49 per cent CEOs invested significantly in data analytics tools in the last one year.

On the other hand, 46 per cent are planning a further step up in next three years.