HALF of chief executives in Asia have observed a more negative business outlook from April to September compared to the preceding month, a new survey showed on Tuesday.
The latest Chief Executive Global Survey by YPO, an international group of more than 28,000 business leaders in 142 countries, found that 24% of Asian executives note a significant decline, while 26% are seeing a slightly more negative business outlook.
This is consistent with the global percentage of 23% significantly more negative outlook, and 26% slightly more negative outlook. Leaders in Asia are less pessimistic than those in Europe, Latin America, and South Asia, but more optimistic than Africa, North America, and the Middle East.
But there has been improvement, as the 49% of global executives with a more negative business outlook is significantly lower than the 84% in April.
The report is based on 2,500 responses from chief executives in 100 countries collected from Sept. 21-24.
The top industries retaining a positive business outlook are healthcare, transportation, retail and wholesale, and product services in technology.
“Health care is the only industry with a top positive business outlook at present and in May 2020,” the report said.
“As were the case in May 2020, and in the exact same ranking, those with the most pessimistic business outlook are the hospitality/restaurant, aerospace/aviation, and media/entertainment (77%, 71% and 67%, respectively).”
Almost half or 47% of leaders in Asia expect at least a 10% decrease in revenue in a year, lower than the 35% of leaders globally.
At the same time, chief executives in the region are twice as likely to promote job sharing as a flexible work arrangement for workers, with 18% of respondents saying so compared with nine percent globally.
Globally, half would promote flexible schedules and part-time remote work, while 26% would offer full-time remote work.
The top industries that are expected not to have flexible work arrangements include automotive, hospitality, construction, and food and beverage.
The global executives expect pandemic restrictions to be the one of the most important factors that will impact business next year, along with regional economic environment, political environment, government regulations, and cybersecurity.
In a post-pandemic scenario, almost half believe that economic outlook is the most significant issue for business leaders, followed by digital technology and supply chain constraints. — Jenina P. Ibañez
