While navigating challenging times, business leaders in Asia Pacific are set to spend more.
According to findings of EY CEO Outlook Pulse - October 2022, Asia Pacific CEOs are set to invest to get ahead of the interrelated threats of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions, increasing geopolitical tensions and climate change.
EY said the survey collected responses from 760 global CEOs.
Survey highlights
- In Asia Pacific, almost half of CEOs (48%) identify a continuation or return of COVID-19-related disruption, including new lockdowns and supply chain pressures, as the greatest risk to their business, higher than for CEOs in the Americas (43%) or Europe (41%).
- Inflation is also top of mind, with the majority of Asia Pacific CEOs (68%) forecasting it will negatively impact their earnings and growth.
- With price rises across major inputs, including, labor, energy and raw materials, one-fifth (20%) consider inflation as the single-biggest threat to their companies’ revenue and margins.
- Contributing to the challenges ahead, 38% of respondents pointed to geopolitical tensions and 35% to climate change and as critical risks to growth.
- As a result of geopolitical challenges, almost all respondents (95%) are reshaping their investment plans and operations (compared to 69% in February 2022).
- Geopolitical concerns mean Asia Pacific CEOs are actively reconfiguring their supply chains (48%), delaying a planned investment (43%) or relocating an operational asset (39%); while a quarter have stopped a planned investment (26%) or are exiting businesses in certain markets altogether (25%).
What leaders need to do while navigating challenging times
The combination of ongoing pandemic-related disruptions, rising inflation, geopolitical tensions and climate change have created a perfect storm of high impact risks, said Yew-Poh Mak, EY Asia-Pacific Strategy and Transactions Leader.
“Asia Pacific business leaders need to pull what levers they can to mitigate these risks, while also creating optimal conditions for long-term value creation,” he advised.
Despite the geopolitical and economic headwinds, Asia Pacific business leaders are not holding back on their investment plans, with a significant majority (66%) intending to increase capital investment versus just 13% who plan to reduce, EY pointed out.
Half of Asia-Pacific CEOs (50%) plan to pursue an acquisition in the next year (in line with the average of 48% between 2013–22), while 42% of respondents plan to be active on all fronts, looking to acquire, divest and enter new joint ventures or strategic alliances, survey results indicate.
When it comes to their next transaction, more than a quarter (26%) of respondents said that this will be driven by the need to invest in an early stage business to enhance their existing portfolio and access new talent, and 17% said that they will look to acquire a business in an adjacent sector to open new growth avenues, according to the survey report.
Top three strategic actions when navigating challenging times
Embedding sustainability products and services (42%), focusing on pricing to improve profitability (36%), and adapting supply chains for resiliency (35%) are the top three strategic actions Asia Pacific CEOs respondents are planning to pursue to weather a challenging six months ahead, according to EY.
Asia-Pacific is still the fastest growing region in the world and CEOs recognise they need to bolster their investments to keep pace with rapidly-changing market dynamics, Mak said.
“Asia-Pacific CEOs see M&A, joint ventures and alliances as critical tools to quickly access the operational capabilities, talent and scale needed to transform their businesses and position themselves for future growth,” he observed.
However, Asia-Pacific CEOs are being much more selective in the deals they pursue, having strengthened their due diligence processes to make sure they're doing the right deal at the right price, he added.
Now is a critical time for Asia-Pacific CEOs to review their assumptions and re-examine their strategies through a new lens, Mak pointed out.
“Leading companies recognise the importance of a more local approach and will diversify their risk exposure by re-orienting their investments, focusing on value for stakeholders and moving supply chains closer to their customers,” he advised.
