PwC sets out success factors to drive differentiation and competitiveness for businesses in Asia Pacific

Jakarta, 27 December 2022 - PwC launched the new report “Asia Pacific’s Time: Responding to the new reality” in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand where PwC is once again the exclusive Knowledge Partner. 

The report highlights that the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened geopolitical tensions, rampant inflation, supply chain fragility and new workforce challenges, with the accelerating pressure for action on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, have created a state of disequilibrium in Asia Pacific. There is also a permanent shift in consumer and business behaviours that has dramatically changed the trajectory of economies and societies. 

Bob Moritz, PwC Global Chairman, said: “The world is enduring an unprecedented level of disruption. If Asia Pacific business leaders are to continue driving growth, competitiveness and resilience in these difficult times, they must embrace the challenges and opportunities of ESG and the new flexible world of work. The key to advancing these agendas in the new reality is a revamped approach to collaboration across the region based on building trust and delivering sustained outcomes. One that must begin now.”

The region can no longer hope growth and gradual change will be sufficient to steer it through these turbulent times. Stakeholders must adjust their posture to become more proactive and self-determined. They must adopt new and more nuanced strategies which position them for success in a more dynamic and interconnected Asia Pacific. 

Raymund Chao, PwC Asia Pacific and China Chairman, commented: “The world, including Asia Pacific, has changed and will continue to do so. As leaders, we must act quickly to build trust with our stakeholders, create value, enhance competitiveness and deliver sustained outcomes. This requires a transformative and multinodal mindset grounded in collaboration. It’s imperative that we must all come together and act now for the new reality in the region.”

Based on our discussions with business leaders and experts in the region, we believe there are five aligned and mutually reinforcing success factors that will drive differentiation and competitiveness for business and governments to prosper, which are highlighted in our report. They are interconnected and interdependent - each one mutually reinforcing but the actions in one having an impact on the others. These success factors are:

1. Supply Chain - Disruption has prompted businesses to reevaluate their sourcing strategies. Leaders in Asia Pacific must shift their focus from cost and efficiency to resilience and trust when transforming their regional supply chain. 

2. Regional Enterprise Growth - Opportunities for value creation are abundant in Asia Pacific. To scale in the region, dealmakers must take a strategic ‘capabilities-driven’ approach that combines processes, tools, technologies, skills and purpose.  

3. Digital Economy - Digitalisation is increasingly crucial for responding to the new reality. Businesses must embrace digitalisation to drive insights, reduce cybersecurity and data privacy risk and stay relevant in an increasingly complex environment.

4. Workforce - Employees in Asia Pacific value meaning and authenticity and 90% of the workforce prefer to work remotely or hybrid*. To build trust and respond to the changing dynamics of their workforce, business leaders must rethink upskilling, embrace flexibility and deliver on purpose-driven work.

5. ESG - ESG is no longer just ‘nice-to-have’ for businesses in Asia Pacific. According to PwC research, momentum is not declining - with 88% of Asia Pacific CEOs remaining committed to their net-zero or carbon neutral targets. Businesses must move from good intention to value creation - accelerating progression of ESG priorities to differentiate in the market for capital and talent.

For Indonesia, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics initiated the Roadmap Indonesia Digital 2021-2024 to provide the framework and stages to achieve an equal economic development based on innovation, digital connectivity and technology to bring more opportunities both in regional and international markets.

Eddy Rintis, PwC Indonesia Territory Senior Partner, stated that, “Governments realised the importance of the digital economy as a key lever of corporate and country competitiveness. Digitalisation is increasingly the key to economic resilience, flexibility and efficiency across the entire business aspects. Digital can enable businesses and governments to counter the disequilibrium with better data, deeper insights and more efficient processes that empower new business models and create new revenue streams. Businesses must act now to seize opportunities by applying digital practices and technology across the most critical parts of the value chain.”

(*) Data collected from Asia Pacific Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022: Time for a rethink?