TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A report released Wednesday (March 27) by PwC Taiwan reveals that despite the worst economic times being over, an increasing number of business leaders feel a sense of urgency to take swift action and make significant changes to maintain profitability.
The "2024 Taiwan Business Leadership Survey: A Turning Point for Accelerated Reinvention" compiled the results of a quantitative questionnaire survey of 212 Taiwanese business leaders, a global opinion survey of 4,702 leaders in 105 regions, and in-depth interviews with four Taiwanese business leaders.
Survey host Chou Chien-hung said that CEOs in Taiwan, Asia-Pacific, and globally all see inflation, overall economic instability, and geopolitical issues as short-term threats. However, Taiwanese leaders are more concerned about climate change than their global and Asia-Pacific counterparts.
Regarding sustainable business opportunities, 41% of global and 51% of Asia-Pacific leaders are willing to accept lower returns on climate-friendly investments, compared to only 29% in Taiwan, indicating that most Taiwanese industries have relatively low-profit margins.
Chou believes that competition among businesses is intensifying in an era of uncertainty, and the key to success lies in taking action to create a competitive advantage.
The survey shows that the proportion of business leaders who believe they need to transform within the next decade has increased. In Taiwan, 76% of business leaders believe they need to transform within the next 10 years, compared to over 50% of global CEOs and 34% in the Asia-Pacific region.
In terms of economic outlook, 38% of global business leaders believe the economy will improve in the next year, up 20% from last year.
In contrast, Taiwanese business leaders are more optimistic, with 48% believing the economy will improve.
Leaders in the technology, media, and telecommunications industries (66%) and consumer industries (63%) are more optimistic about Taiwan's economic growth this year, exceeding the overall level in Taiwan (57%).