Business confidence in Asia edges up as global outlook holds steady
Hong Kong, May 03, 2017: YPO, the premier chief executive leadership organisation in the world, reported today that confidence among business leaders in Asia rose in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017), reaching a two-year high. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for Asia increased for the second consecutive quarter, gaining 2.1 points to 63.3.
Business leaders in Asia reported a more cautious outlook than their counterparts in the United States but were more optimistic than chief executives in the European Union (EU). Having fallen behind in the fourth quarter of 2016 (4Q 2016), Asia once again came in ahead of the Index’s global composite score of 62.5.
Whilst the overall regional picture was significantly improved, there were marked differences in sentiment across the major economies in the region. India reported a more positive outlook, gaining 3.2 points to 66.0, reversing the dip it experienced in Q4 2016. India remains the most confident of any of the world’s top ten economies. Sentiment amongst business leaders in China remained relatively flat, edging up 0.3 point to 61.6. However, Japan reported a more subdued outlook, slipping 2.6 points to 55.7, following a decrease in consumer spending in the first three months of the year.
For the second consecutive quarter, economic sentiment amongst the emerging economies in Asia saw a healthy improvement, as global commodity prices continued to rebound. On the back of a 9.0-point surge in the final quarter of last year, the YPO Global Pulse Index for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries rose 4.0 points to land at 66.0, its highest level since July 2014. Most notably, Malaysia and Singapore reported significantly more positive outlooks.
“It’s positive to see that business leaders in Asia remain optimistic about the economic climate and the potential for growth, despite uncertainty surrounding the stability of the global economy, and the potential impact of more protectionist U.S. economic policies,”said YPO member Wei Chen, Founder and Chairman of Sun Capital.
“Of course, chief executives will continue to monitor economic indicators and the socio-political events unfolding within the region and beyond, but they will definitely believe that they can take advantage of these current economic conditions.”
Globally, the YPO Global Pulse Index edged up 0.3 point to 62.5 during the quarter, its highest level since January 2015. For the second consecutive quarter, the United States reported the highest level of confidence in the world, inching up 0.3 point to 64.9. Confidence in the European Union (EU) remained flat at 60.9, while Africa is the second-least confident region globally, edging down 0.3 point to 54.4.
Elsewhere, confidence in Latin America dropped by 1.2 points to 57.1, while confidence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region showed the biggest decline, sliding 4.3 points to 55.2. Non-EU Europe reported the lowest level of confidence in the world, falling 2.5 points to 51.8.
Key findings in Asia
Economic climate set to get better
Business leaders in Asia were optimistic about short-term economic conditions. The majority (55%) predicted that the economic landscape would improve over the next six months, while only 12% felt that the climate for business would deteriorate.
Chief executives confident about revenue and employment growth
Regional findings
Australasia
YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index
The quarterly electronic survey, conducted in the first two weeks of April 2017, gathered answers from 1,216 YPO chief executive officers across the globe, including 153 in Asia and 60 in Australasia. Visit http://www.ypo.org/globalpulse/ for more information about the survey methodology and results from around the world.
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
