At the same time, 86% of Romanian CEOs say they are confident of growth in the next 12 months and 39% very confident. Nevertheless, CEOs also expressed their concerns about over-regulation, fiscal deficits and tax burdens, the consultancy firm said in a news release Wednesday.
By industry, CEOs in the Hospitality and Leisure sector are most confident about prospects for the next 12 months (46%), followed by those in Banking and Capital Markets (45%), Retail (44%), Financial Services (44%), Asset Management (44%), Communications (44%), and Engineering & Construction (41%). CEOs in the Metals industry are least confident at 19%.
“Surveys that measure expectations are very good lead indicators of economic trends. The significant increase in the number of CEOs confident in the near term growth of their companies’ revenues might signal that we are moving into an expansion stage of the world economy, which will probably last longer (expansions are usually longer than recessions),” stated Vasile Iuga, Country Managing Partner, PwC Romania.
In Romania, 47% of executives see growth opportunities coming from product/service innovation, and 24% from an increased share in existing markets.
When asked to name the foreign markets most important to them for their companies’ growth in the next 12 months, 27% of Romanian CEOs named Germany and 18% Russia.
Romanian CEOs are significantly more optimistic about the world economy, with 45% of respondents confident that the global economy will improve in the next 12 months, compared to just 13% last year.
The results for Romania are based on responses from 49 local executives, PwC said.