CEOs in India optimistic about biz growth: report 

Chief executive officers in India are more optimistic about the growth outlook for the global economy compared to that of India’s, says KPMG’s fourth annual India CEO Outlook 2018 report published on Monday. According to the survey, 89% of the CEOs were confident about the global economy, compared with 69% who were optimistic about the Indian economy.

Despite the relative lower confidence in the Indian economy, the CEOs surveyed were optimistic about their businesses over the next three years. This can be attributed to the fact that 91% were confident about their company’s growth prospects, while 81% were confident about the growth of the industry they are a part of, the survey says. The report surveyed 125 CEOs in India.

According to the survey, 86% CEOs in India—as compared to 59% of their global peers—believe that becoming an agile organisation will be critical to their company’s survival. While CEOs were confident about the growth of their companies over the short- to medium-term, they anticipated that sustaining growth was likely to become challenging in this era of competition.

“Flexibility and adaptability across all aspects of an enterprise can ensure that organisations respond faster to the ever-changing market conditions, improve overall organisational efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction,” said Nitin Atroley, office managing partner-North, KPMG in India.

The survey reveals that CEOs in India expect their organisation to drive growth while managing strong headwinds—from rising cybersecurity risk to geopolitical uncertainty.

As many as 66% of CEOs in India surveyed consider the return to territorialism as one of the key challenges to growth. To mitigate this risk of increasing protectionism, the survey notes that 62% CEOs in India were showing business confidence in emerging markets, over developed markets, to drive future growth. Under the emerging markets, Central/South America had emerged as the most trusted region for expansion, the report says. It also notes that half the CEOs now consider cybersecurity as the most important in supporting their organisation’s growth plans.

“They [the CEOs surveyed] are confident in the national, global and industry prospects, but believe a pragmatic and realistic view will be key to grow their revenue over a three-year horizon,” said Arun M. Kumar, chairman and CEO, KPMG in India.