Saudi CEO`s forecast business optimism and economic growth

12/03/24

Saudi Arabian Chief Executive Officers have shown unprecedented optimism for the economic growth prospects of the Kingdom over the next year.

According to a study by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) a significant 89% of Saudi CEOs, are optimistic about the country’s economic growth, compared to 44% globally, 73% in the Middle East and 81% in the GCC.

Furthermore, Saudi’s GDP exceeded SAR 3.75 trillion (USD 1 trillion) for the first time last year, and in line with the CEOs optimism, the International Monetary Fund forecasted growth to SAR 4.87 trillion (USD 1.3 trillion) by 2028.

Additional findings from the PWC study reveal that over half of the CEOs (54%) are extremely confident in their company's revenue growth for the next 12 months while 74% are expecting to increase employment given the massive scale of projects underway in Saudi Arabia. In terms of the digital transformation, Saudi CEOs believe that technological change (60% against 56% globally) and customer preference (69% vs 49% globally) will be the primary factors driving significant changes in their business models over the next three years. This extends to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as just over half of CEOs (54%) said GenAI will improve the quality of their companies products and services. Looking further ahead, in the next three years, 66% indicated that GenAI will significantly change the creation, delivery and capture of value.

Saudi Arabia shows the highest levels of climate concern (29%) when compared to regional (15%) and global (12%) counterparts. 60% of Saudi CEOs said that they are keen to improve the energy efficiency of their businesses. More than half are innovating new climate friendly products, services or technologies, while 43% are incorporating climate risk into financial planning.

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