China’s CEOs have spoken, and new confidence index shows how multinationals’ hopes turned ‘sobering’ in mere months
- The Conference Board’s twice-yearly survey finds that confidence among dozens of polled CEOs has taken a big hit while Beijing struggles to stimulate the market and lure investors
- Nearly half of polled corporate executives in China said an extended period of weak economic growth could spur a fundamental ‘course change’ by policymakers
Confidence among multinational companies in China has sharply deteriorated in the past half-year, according to fresh findings by an international non-profit think tank that reflect how interest in expanding investment and recruitment has waned in a time of slow economic growth and persistent geopolitical wrangling.
The results also further underpin the shared sentiment among many economists, policy advisers and business groups that Beijing will need to take more aggressive measures to revitalise the market and lure back foreign investors.
In its “Measure of CEO Confidence for China” report on Tuesday, The Conference Board said the confidence rating – on a 100-point scale – had fallen from 72 to 54 in the span of just six months, and it pointed to the nation’s slower-than-expected economic recovery.
A rating over 50, however, means that most responses from 35 CEOs polled last month were still more positive than negative, as the twice-yearly barometer gauges the perceptions of China-based chief executives, mostly with US and European multinationals operating in the country.
CEOs’ views are clear on the most pressing risks for their business in China: geopolitical tensions and China’s economic slowdown
And CEOs in China appear more confident than their peers in the US and Europe, who had a more negative outlook with sub-50 ratings.