88% of S'pore CEOs confident of economic growth over the next 12 months: KPMG study

ALMOST 90 per cent of Singapore CEOs say that they are more confident about the country's growth, compared with their Asean and global counterparts, amid the current economic uncertainty, according to a study released by KPMG.

According to the findings, 88 per cent of CEOs in Singapore believe that there will be growth - especially in technology and innovation - over the next 12 months, compared with 57 per cent in Asean and 73 per cent globally.

At the regional level, Asean CEOs are also optimistic about growth and transformation. Compared with 72 per cent globally, 83 per cent of Asean CEOs believe that they are able to navigate through the challenge of a changing business landscape.

However, the study also found that they face concerns in keeping abreast with new technologies; staying on top of what is next in services or products; global economic forces; the differing wants or needs of millennials; customer loyalty; and for some, cyber security risks and the need to master advanced data analytics.

Despite the potential challenges, almost half expect that their company's annual top-line growth - mainly from new products, customers, markets and channels - will be between 2 and 5 per cent over the next three years.

The study polled 1,268 CEOs in 10 core markets - Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US. Separately, 53 Asean CEOS across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were also surveyed.