Asia Pacific CEOs are optimistic about global economic growth, on par with their global peers, yet confidence in short-term revenue prospects is softening as leaders grapple with persistent pressures from inflation to tariff uncertainty, according to the latest survey of Asia-Pacific CEOs by PwC.
Only 21% of the 1,766 Asia Pacific CEOs surveyed say they are very or extremely confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from 34% in 2025 and below global peers (30%).
On the flip side, confidence improves over the three-year horizon; a more positive picture emerges as CEOs anticipate the normalisation of business as trade volatility levels out and ongoing investments in digital, AI and supply-chain resilience start delivering results.
The survey points to digital change outpacing organisational readiness
In the course of this year, though, CEOs feel under pressure from a number of challenges, with digital risk topping the list and highlighting the impact cyberthreats pose to the region. The survey points to digital change outpacing organisational readiness while noting that fragmented regulation across jurisdictions can weaken resilience. Economic pressures follow close behind, with both inflation and volatility scoring highly.
Competing pressures mean that CEOs are stretched, directing their focus on the near term rather than longer term. Only 21% of CEOs surveyed had time to focus on activities with a more than five-year time horizon.
However, reinvention and resilience are front of mind, with more than a third (37%) of Asia-Pacific CEOs planning to expand their traditional industry boundaries over the next three years; technology is among the fast-moving sectors most rated. Those CEOs moving into new sectors or industries underscore new sources of value to the businesses they oversee, with 61% reporting that more than 10% of revenue over the past five years came from exploring those new sectors.
