CEOs upbeat over growth prospects, to raise headcount

Most of the business leaders surveyed across the world sounded optimistic about growth prospects and are planning to raise headcounts this year, indicating that fears of world financial meltdown have receded, said a survey.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers 13th Annual Global CEO Survey, released at the ongoing World Economic Forum meet here, "CEOs' confidence for future growth has bounced back from the gloomy prospects of a year ago and are planning to boost their head-count".

The confidence level of CEOs in emerging markets are much better than those in the developed nations, with 97 per cent CEOs in India alone saying that they are confident of growth in the next year.

"In North America and Western Europe, for example, about 80 per cent of CEOs said they were confident of growth in the next year. That compared with 91 per cent in Latin America and in China/Hong Kong, and 97 per cent in India," PwC said.

Commenting on the report, PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Chairman Dennis M Nally said: "The fears of a global economic meltdown have receded and CEOs are more upbeat about their prospects. Emerging economies are clearly recovering at a faster pace than those that are more developed."

Overall, the survey found that 81 per cent of CEOs worldwide are confident of their prospects for the next 12 months, while only 18 per cent said they remained pessimistic.

Globally, nearly 40 per cent of CEOs are planning to increase headcounts this year. Only 25 per cent of top bosses surveyed intend to reduce the manpower, it added.