Indian CEOs most confident about economy: PwC survey

CEOs from across the world have become more optimistic about revenue gains of their companies and overall economic growth, with Indian business heads emerging as the most confident about economy and among top-5 globally for internal topline figures, a survey said today.
Besides, CEOs from across the world including in India plan to aggressively expand their workforce this year, even as their worries about over-regulation, fiscal deficits and tax policy have reached highest ever levels, the PwC survey said.
Releasing its annual CEO survey on the opening night of World Economic Forum here, global consultancy giant PwC stated that compared to last year twice as many CEOs around the world believe the global economy will improve in the next 12 months.

Moreover 39 per cent of chief executives are 'very confident' about their company's revenue growth in 2014.
India was ranked fourth in the list of countries/regional CEOs who are confident of revenue growth in the next 12 months time, which was topped by Russia, followed by Mexico and Korea in the second and third place.
Commenting on the survey results, released at the opening of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Dennis M Nally, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International, said "CEOs have begun to regain confidence."

Nally added that CEOs have successfully guided their companies through recession and now more CEOs feel positive about their ability to increase their revenues and prospects for the global economy.

However, CEOs also acknowledge that generating sustained growth in the post-crisis economy remains a challenge, especially as they deal with changing conditions like slowing growth in the emerging markets, he added.
"For the future, CEOs tell us that they expect three major global trends - rapid technological advances, demographic changes and shifts in economic power - will have a major impact on the future of their businesses. Finding ways of turning these global trends to their advantage will be the key to future success," he said.
For PwC's 17th Annual Global CEO Survey, 1,344 interviews were conducted in 68 nations during the last quarter of 2013.

By region, 445 interviews were conducted in Asia Pacific, 442 in Europe, 212 in North America, 165 in Latin America, 45 in Africa and 35 in the Middle East. The India report based on these findings will be released late February at the three-city CEO Summit.