Survey: Inflation, macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical conflicts remain top concerns for CEOs in RO

The proportion of optimistic CEOs has doubled in 2024 compared with 2023, with 38% expecting the economy to grow, compared with 18% last year, according to the 27th edition of the PwC Global CEO Survey 202 4, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The proportion of CEOs expecting the global economy to decline has fallen to 45% this year from a record 73% last year.

"With inflation moderating across countries and macroeconomic volatility no longer perceived as an imminent threat to the economy, business leaders have become more optimistic. We see that the main concern now is the long-term viability of the business, with many questioning whether the current model will still be relevant to the market in a decade. New technologies, climate change and other factors are forcing companies to reinvent themselves," Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner, said.

The perceived risk of both inflation and macroeconomic volatility decreased by 16 percentage points (to 24%) and 7 percentage points (to 24%) respectively. However, this remains the top concern for CEOs globally. Despite ongoing conflicts, the proportion of CEOs who believe they will affect their company has fallen by 7 percentage points to 18%.

The situation is similar in Romania, where inflation, macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical conflicts remain the top concerns for CEOs this year.

"In Romania, the CEOs' perception of the national economy has improved compared to last year: 37% of them expect growth, compared to 26% in 2023. As a result, the proportion of those expecting the economy to decline has fallen from 62% to 47%. Moreover, these forecasts are supported by the European Commission's estimates that Romania's economy will grow by 3.1% this year, compared to 2.2% last year. Despite the improvement in expectations for the macroeconomic situation, local entrepreneurs are more pessimistic about their businesses. The situation can be explained if we take into account the news brought by the fiscal-budgetary policy in the last quarter of last year, many of which have a negative impact on companies, as well as on inflation and the investment climate as a whole," Bumbăcea explains.

In Romania, 30% of CEOs expect their companies to decline, and 37% expect growth, compared to 52% in 2023.

Global confidence in economic growth is fragile as megatrends driven by technology - such as generative artificial intelligence - and climate change impact business. Nearly half (45%) of CEOs say they do not believe their current business will be viable in a decade if it continues its current trajectory, compared to 39% in 2023.

Romania follows the trend, with the percentage of CEOs who are pessimistic about the viability of their business in 10 years' time rising from 27% in the 2023 survey to 37% this year.