APEC CEOs show highest optimism in three years

Photo: VGP/Huy Thang

The information was released at a press conference on November 8 at the eighth annual APEC CEO survey carried out by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC). 

The survey reflects the viewpoints of 1,400 executives in the 21 APEC economies.

It shows that 37% of APEC CEOs say they are very confident of revenue growth during the next 12 months, up from 28% in 2016 despite trade policy uncertainty and related political tensions in many of the APEC economies. 

In the next year, a net 50% of the businesses surveyed by PwC will increase their global investments, up 43% from the previous year. 

71% of those surveyed who are raising investment will direct those increases into APEC economies in 2018, and 63% of all APEC CEOs expect their broader global footprint to expand over the next three years.

Viet Nam, China, Indonesia, the US and Thailand are the top APEC targets for business leaders’ overseas investment. 86% of Viet Nam CEOs expect to expand globally. 

Nearly half of foreign business investors in Viet Nam (47%) plan to increase their investments in Viet Nam over the next 12 months, said PwC Viet Nam General Director Dinh Thi Quynh Van.

The Vietnamese Government’s determinations to accelerate economic reform, consolidate public institution and focus on education and skill development are key factors for Viet Nam’s willingness for the future, she added. 

By Thuy Dung