CEOs are pessimistic about global economy, says new PwC survey

CEOs are showing record levels of pessimism in the global economy, with 53% predicting a decline in the rate of economic growth in 2020, according to a new PwC survey. This is up from 29% in 2019 and just 5% in 2018 – the highest level of pessimism since PwC began asking the question to about 1,600 CEOs in 2012. By contrast, the number of CEOs projecting a rise in the rate of economic growth dropped from 42% in 2019 to only 22% in 2020.

Pessimism over global economic growth is particularly significant in North America, Western Europe and the Middle East, with 63%, 59% and 57% of CEOs from those regions predicting lower global growth in the year ahead.

Drop in confidence not surprising

"Given the lingering uncertainty over trade tensions, geopolitical issues and the lack of agreement on how to deal with climate change, the drop in confidence in economic growth is not surprising – even if the scale of the change in mood is," said Bob Moritz, chairman of the PwC Network. "These challenges facing the global economy are not new – however the scale of them and the speed at which some of them are escalating is new.”

Moritz did note though that there are still real opportunities available. “With an agile strategy, a sharp focus on the changing expectations of stakeholders, and the experience many have built up over the last 10 years in a challenging environment, business leaders can weather an economic downturn and continue to thrive,” he said.

Canada ranks fourth when it comes to confidence

China and India show the highest levels of confidence among major economies at 45% and 40% respectively, the US at 36%, Canada at 27%, the UK at 26%, Germany at 20% and France 18%. Japan has the fewest number of optimistic CEOs with only 11% very confident of growing revenues in 2020.

CEOs are also increasingly concerned about cyber threats, climate change and environmental damage. However, despite the increasing number of extreme weather events and the intensity of debate on the issue, the magnitude of other threats continues to overshadow climate change.

When it comes to policing cyber space, more than two-thirds of CEOs believe that governments will introduce new legislation to regulate the content on both the internet and social media and to break up dominant tech companies. A majority of CEOs (51%) also predict that governments will increasingly compel the private sector to financially compensate individuals for the personal data that they collect.