uAe CeOs: in TeCH We TRusT
DUBAI — A vast majority of CEOs in the Middle East, who took part in a survey, are upbeat and confident about their company’s prospects for revenue growth, while their counterparts across the world feel they have plenty to worry about in the year ahead.
However, CEOs in the region, though confident, are playing a cautious hand when it comes to growth strategies. They are avoiding more speculative new ventures and refocusing on core capabilities and securing growth with tried and tested partners and exit strategies, PwC said in a survey report.
In 2017 Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC canvassed the views of over 1,300 international CEOs including over 50 in the Middle East. While 38 per cent of CEOs worldwide (2016: 35 per cent) are very confident about their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months, while 29 per cent (2016: 27 per cent) believe global economic growth will pick up in 2017.
The survey’s Middle East findings paint an even more positive, albeit guarded, picture about growth in the region.
In fact, 38 per cent of Middle East respondents are very confident about their company’s prospects over the next 12 months (2016: 34 per cent) and as many as 60 per cent have the same degree of confidence over the next three years — by far the highest of any region. This confidence also resonates into plans for workforce: 56 per cent of the region’s respondents expect to increase their headcount over the next year.
Hani Ashkar, PwC Middle East Senior Partner, said that despite a tumultuous 2016, the survey findings paint an encouraging picture for the year ahead and
beyond.
CEOs in the region are stepping up to the challenge of digital technology: seizing the possibilities it offers and addressing the risks it can pose, he said. > TURN TO PAGE 30 > SEE ALSO PAGE 25 An increasingly digitally-enabled landscape is emerging in the region, and CEOs have an array of concerns and opportunities when it comes to addressing these Hani Ashkar, PwC Middle East Senior Partner The ability of the UAE government to adjust quickly to changing oil revenues means that there are visible signs of gradual recovery Lindsay Degouve de Nuncques, head of ACCA Middle East