Global CEOs mostly confident about economic prospects: KPMG report

CHIEF executive officers (CEOs) around the world are still broadly confident about global economic prospects, despite an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, according to a report by KPMG International.

The 2017 Global CEO Outlook, which was released on Tuesday, found that while many CEOs are optimistic, this optimism has dipped from 80 per cent last year to 65 per cent this year.

The figure was similar among Asean CEOs (65 per cent), but Singapore CEOs were slightly more confident (73 per cent).

Globally, 65 per cent of CEOs see "disruptive forces" as an opportunity rather than a threat to their business. Among Singapore and Asean CEOs, this figure was higher at 96 and 92 per cent, respectively.

When asked to evaluate near-term business prospects, 83 per cent of global CEOs described themselves as "confident of their company's growth prospects" over the next three years.

Singapore and Asean CEOs were found to be more confident, at 96 and 98 per cent, respectively.

Nearly 75 per cent of global CEOs also indicated that their business is aiming to be the "disruptor in their sector". Similar numbers were seen for Singapore (77 per cent) and Asean (83 per cent) CEOs.

KPMG's 2017 Global CEO Outlook polled almost 1,300 CEOs of the world's largest companies.