The World Bank projects that global economic growth will weaken from 2.9% in 2022 to 1.7% in 2023. "Economic growth will slow sharply due to high inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investment, and disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine," said the World Bank in its January 2023 Global Economic Prospects report.
Amidst these conditions, the most feared threat among Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) is rising prices.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey, 40% of CEOs feel their companies are highly vulnerable to inflation. Others feel threatened by economic volatility and geopolitical conflict, with proportions as shown in the graph.
"Inflation, economic volatility, and geopolitics are interconnected issues. For example, the war in Ukraine is driving up prices, leading to central bank interest rate hikes worldwide, and ultimately hindering economic growth," PwC stated in its latest CEO Global Survey report.
PwC also found that 73% of CEOs believe the global economy will weaken in 2023. This pessimistic group has increased significantly compared to 2022, when the percentage was only 15%.
The majority of CEOs surveyed have already prepared strategies to face the economic challenges of 2023.
"In the short term, CEOs will accelerate revenue growth and cut operating costs, without delaying strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions," said PwC.
PwC conducted this survey of 4,410 CEOs across 105 countries during October-November 2022.
The majority of CEOs surveyed have company revenues of USD 100 million or approximately Rp 1.5 trillion per year (38%).
Other respondents have business revenues between Rp 1.5 trillion and Rp 15 trillion per year (33%), and some have revenues higher than that (23%).