Economy: Most Indian CEOs optimistic about growth in 2024, says PwC’s survey
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Around 86 percent of Indian Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are very optimistic about the growth of the Indian economy this year, advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said on Tuesday.
They believe the Indian economy will grow faster in the next 12 months, according to the company’s 27th annual global survey, the media reported on Tuesday.
For this survey, PwC polled 4,702 CEOs in 105 countries and territories, including 79 in India, to ascertain their opinions about their respective economies. Altogether 86 percent of CEOs in India are confident that this country’s economy will improve, a 30 percent increase over the last year.
In contrast, only 44 percent of global CEOs believe the economy would improve in their respective territories.
The optimism about the growing Indian economy is reflected worldwide, with the country becoming the fifth top investment destination for global CEOs compared to the ninth rank in 2023.
As many as 62 percent of business leaders in India said they were “extremely or very confident” about their companies’ growth over the next 12 months. Only 37 percent of global CEOs said the same.
However, the CEOs in India also listed inflation and cyberattacks as the biggest threats to their companies in the next 12 months.
India’s annual retail inflation hit a 15-month high of 7.44 percent in July 2023 before cooling down to around 5.5 percent in November 2023, PwC said in a release.
Twenty-eight percent of Indian CEOs thought cyberattacks as a top threat compared to 18 percent in 2023.
“Despite continuing global headwinds, the Indian economy has remained resilient with expectations of a strong growth trajectory in the near future. While India CEOs will indeed play a big role in the country becoming a five-trillion-dollar economy, they will also need to reinvent their businesses and work culture to ensure long-term sustainable success,” said Sanjeev Krishan, chairperson of PwC in India.
“India’s business leaders will need to strategically tackle barriers such as regulatory constraints and lack of tech capabilities to turn them into growth opportunities, which will create lasting value for businesses, society, and the environment,” he said.
