More CEOs in Taiwan see Chinese mainland as most important market: PwC survey

TAIPEI -- An increasing number of companies in Taiwan consider the Chinese mainland the most important market for their growth in 2019, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by PwC Taiwan.

Three-quarters of surveyed CEOs of Taiwan enterprises said the Chinese mainland remains the most important market in 2019, up from 72 percent last year, revealed PwC Taiwan.

As part of PwC's annual global CEO survey of 1,378 CEOs, the PwC Taiwan conducted interviews with 245 CEOs from sectors of technology, telecom, consumption, manufacturing, industrial, health, energy and public resources, and finance services during October-December 2018.

Among the interviewed chief executives of Taiwan enterprises, 52 percent viewed the United States as the most important market for growth this year, down from 59 percent in 2018, while 23 percent, 18 percent and 14 percent of Taiwan CEOs considered Japan, Vietnam and Germany, respectively, as their most important market.

When asked about the global economic outlook this year, Taiwan CEOs were the most pessimistic among their peers from major economies, as 47 percent of respondents in Taiwan predicted a decline in global economic growth, compared with 8 percent last year. The proportion marked the highest level since 2013 in Taiwan, well above the 29 percent shared among global CEOs.

Only 27 percent of Taiwan CEOs projected higher global economic growth in 2019, compared with 42 percent globally.

In terms of revenue growth for their own companies this year, only 19 percent of Taiwan CEOs said they are "very confident," compared with 35 percent of global CEOs. The proportion touched the lowest revenue confidence level since 2016, according to the PwC survey.

"This sends a very bad signal," said PwC Taiwan CEO Chou Chien-hung, who led the survey. "For Taiwan CEOs, 2019 will be the most stressful year with the fiercest competition."

According to the survey results, Taiwan CEOs viewed trade conflicts, geopolitical uncertainty and policy uncertainty as the potential threats they are most worried about, while other CEOs considered unstable exchange rates, protectionism and uncertainty in economic growth to be the most prominent threats.

About 40 percent of the surveyed CEOs were from companies with an annual business turnover between 100 million U.S. dollars to 999 million U.S. dollars, while 39 percent represented those with annual revenues below 100 million U.S. dollars.