27th Annual Global CEO Survey

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CEOs around the world, including Thailand, are facing macroeconomic challenges, technological disruptions, climate change and various other megatrends. This is reflected by two-thirds of Thai CEOs (67%) not being confident that their business will remain economically viable in the next decade if they continue their current path.

67% of Thai CEOs don’t think their business will be economically viable in the next ten years if they continue on their current path

Q. If your company continues running on its current path, for how long do you think your business will be economically viable?

_{Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand}

Sentiment on the global economy remains divided among Thai CEOs. While 45% believe the global economy will improve over the next 12 months, another 45% think it will decline, indicating mixed confidence in the global economic outlook.

Sentiment on the global economy remains divided among Thai CEOs

Q. How do you believe economic growth (i.e. GDP) will change, if at all, over the next 12 months in the global economy?

_{Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand}

The need for reinvention is rising due to the notable increase in the pressure that Thai CEOs expect to face over the next three years from factors that influence business model change.

Compared to the last five years, Thai CEOs anticipate changes associated with technology (55%), customer preference (48%), government regulations (55%) and competitor action (48%). Climate change (24%) has slightly increased in terms of being seen as a factor driving business change in the next three years.

Thai CEOs show signs of reinventing their business

Q. Please indicate the extent to which the following factors have driven changes to the way your company creates, delivers and captures value in the last five years/next three years (Showing only ‘to a large extent’ and ‘to a very large extent’ responses)

_{Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand}

Climate change is one of the megatrends pressuring Thai CEOs to reinvent their businesses. Similar to the global and Asia Pacific regions, Thailand has taken action and made investments to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Regarding decarbonisation, 79% of Thai CEOs have either completed or are in the process of improving energy efficiency, surpassing the global average of 75% and the Asia Pacific average of 68%.

Actions undertaken by Thai CEOs related to climate change

Q. Below is a list of actions companies may undertake related to climate change. Which of the following best describes your company’s level of progress on each of these actions?

Decarbonisation

Climate adaptation

Just transition

Nature

_{Note: Percentages shown may not total 100 due to rounding.

Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand}

The second megatrend, GenAI, is transforming the business landscape and poses a significant challenge for Thai CEOs to keep up with disruptive technologies.

Looking ahead to the next three years, Thai CEOs positively perceive GenAI, similar to their global and Asia Pacific counterparts. 61% of Thai CEOs believe that GenAI will significantly change how businesses create, deliver and capture value.

Although this percentage is lower than the global average of 70% and Asia Pacific average of 76%, Thai CEOs share their counterparts’ optimism about the opportunities that GenAI presents.

Thai CEOs’ sentiment on GenAI

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about generative AI?

Last 12 months

Next 12 months

Next three years

_{Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand}

While GenAI presents opportunities for businesses, it also poses risks if not adopted responsibly. According to Thai CEOs, 70% agree that GenAI can lead to cybersecurity risks, aligning with their global (64%) and Asia Pacific (49%) counterparts.

As GenAI is integrated into businesses, it will be crucial for companies to construct a responsible AI framework to mitigate risks such as data breaches and misuse.