Chief executive officers around the world are less worried about terrorism than about a range of other risks to their business prospects like tougher competition and currency fluctuations, according to a survey released in Davos.
At the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, the consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in its 7th annual global CEO survey also found business executives to be more confident now about their companies prospects than a year ago.
The survey was conducted among 1 394 CEOs of leading corporations around the globe about their business prospects and risks in today’s world economy.
In rank of order about the current risks, the survey found that the top worry on the minds of 63% of global CEOs was increased competition, followed by 59% who thought over-regulation was a threat.
Next came currency fluctuations (48%) and the loss of talented personnel (45%) on the list of risks to their business, with terrorism ranked fifth as a threat to business, at 40%, PWC said.
The worry about currency fluctuations was most pronounced among South American CEOs, 62% of whom felt this was a threat, the survey showed.
As to the business climate, the PWC survey said that CEOs were more confident now than a year ago about their companies’ revenues growth prospects. Today, 31% reported being ”very confident” as against 26% a year ago. About 53% felt ”somewhat confident” now, against 46% last year.
Risk management is one more than 200 themes to be discussed and debated at this year’s WEF meetings under the banner Partnering for Peace and Prosperity. About 2 100 participants from 94 countries were expected to attend the annual meeting, the WEF said. – Sapa-DPA