Cyprus CEOs more confident than global counterparts

CEOs in Cyprus are more confident about their company’s prospects for revenue growth, according to the local findings of PwC’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, “Redefining business success”.

Eighty business leaders of some of the largest organisations in Cyprus participated in the fifth consecutive local survey, while the global survey sample consisted of a total of 1,409 CEOs in 83 countries.

According to the local survey, even though CEOs in Cyprus share the concerns of their counterparts as regards the outlook of the global economy, the vast majority remain confident about their own company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months.

More specifically, 20% said they were very confident and 65% somewhat confident, compared with 14% of the CEOs who said they are not confident. As regards the global economic growth, 49% of CEOs in Cyprus expect that it will remain the same, while 19% anticipate that it will decline, in contrast to 33% who believe that it will improve over the next 12 months.

On a global level, CEOs are less optimistic about the future of the global economy compared to 2015. The same applies to prospects for revenue growth, with just 35% saying they are very confident, as opposed to last year’s 39%.

Another key factor is that 53% of Cyprus CEOs see opportunities for growth, whereas CEOs globally with a percentage of 66% see more threats than opportunities than three years ago.

When it comes to the threats, 76% of Cyprus CEOs are concerned about the geopolitical uncertainty in the region, while 70% are equally concerned about the Eurozone debt crisis. The state’s response to fiscal deficit and debt burden is also a source of concern for 69% of participants in Cyprus, while an equal number of participants are concerned about the over-regulation affecting their field of activity. Furthermore, 65% of CEOs consider bribery and corruption a major threat to their companies’ future, when the corresponding figure in the Eurozone is just 38%.

“The confidence expressed by CEOs comes at a time of positive developments for the Cyprus economy, such as the return to growth, the upgrading of credit ratings and the exit from the three-year bailout programme, as well as the progress in doing business recorded in international reports,” said PwC Cyprus CEO Evgenios Evgeniou.

“Even though there is still a lot to be done the survey findings affirm that our country is entering a new era. The aim of viable growth, both for the businesses that are the backbone of economic activity in Cyprus and the economy as a whole, is today more feasible and realistic than ever.”

The local findings of the 19th Annual Global CEO Survey were presented by Philippos Soseilos, Partner in charge of consulting at PwC Cyprus, during an event in Nicosia, joined on the panel by Bank of Cyprus Group CEO John Patrick Hourican, Dr. Andreas Pittas, Executive Chairman of Medochemie, and Constantinos Petrides, Under Secretary to the President.