Albanian CEOs, optimistic about the economy this year, but high uncertainty for the next decade

2024-05-15 10:00:32, Ekonomi CNA

Albanian CEOs, optimistic about the economy this year, but high uncertainty for

The majority of CEOs in Albania (62%) think that the local economy will improve in the short term, but are not optimistic for the next 10 years.

A survey by "Price Water House Coopers" (PWC), a multinational brand of professional business services, found that 53% of executives in Albania expect the number of employees in their company to increase by 5% or more in the year 2024. Also, about 55% of CEOs in Kosovo have the same opinion.

However, trust is fragile, as in Albania almost half (44%) and in Kosovo more than half (55%) do not believe that their business will be sustainable in a decade, unless significant changes are made in business.

Almost half (44%) of CEOs in Albania say they do not believe their current business will be sustainable a decade from now, if it continues on its current trajectory – up from 46% in 2023. CEOs expressed uncertainty about how megatrends will be managed.

CEOs are more confident than last year in their plans to grow their companies' revenue in the next 12 months – from 24% to 38%.

The survey of 35 Albanian CEOs revealed that 38% of CEOs are optimistic about global economic growth prospects over the next 12 months, up from 24% in 2023.

CEOs' expectations of an economic downturn have also fallen from a record high last year (76%) to 32%, as perceived exposure to inflation fell by 20 percentage points (to 29%) and macroeconomic stability increased by 6 percentage points (to 35%) respectively.

The percentage of executives who felt their company was very or extremely exposed to the risk of geopolitical conflict increased by 1 percentage point (to 21%).

CEOs increasingly see Artificial Intelligence as a catalyst for efficiency, innovation and transformational change. 50% of CEOs believe that Artificial Intelligence will significantly change the way their company creates, delivers and adds value in the next three years.

But in terms of short-term impact, CEOs are not so optimistic about the role of Artificial Intelligence.

Over the next 12 months, only a third (32%) expect it to improve the quality of their products or services, and 24% say it will increase their ability to build trust with stakeholders.

Some also expect good results for their business – 15% expect it to positively impact business revenue and 26% expect it to positively impact profit.

But while CEOs are increasingly seeking the transformative benefits of AI, a large majority say application will require upskilling the workforce (50%).

They also expressed concern about cybersecurity risk (53%), misinformation (41%), legal liability and reputational risk (29%).m beyond the next decade without innovation – up from 39% in 2023.

But as CEOs take action, they face a number of challenges. Two-thirds (58%) cite the regulatory environment as impeding their ability to bring innovation and newness to their business model to at least a moderate extent, 44% point to competitive operational concerns, and 41% point to a lack of skills in their company's workforce.

Another obstacle is inefficiency. CEOs perceive significant inefficiency in a variety of their companies' routine activities – everything from decision-making meetings to emails – seeing approximately 36% of time spent on these tasks as inefficient./ Monitor.al