The fact that Cypriot CEOs are more optimistic for the future than they were a year ago, may be attributed to the natural gas discovery and the potential economic opportunities it is expected to create. Investment and development are the answer to the recession and unemployment, according to the PwC report, and the top investment priorities over the next year focus on customers - with CEOs emphasising growing their customer base and enhancing services.

The past year has been particularly challenging for businesses and the cost reduction initiatives, which are expected to continue, confirm the year ahead will be even more challenging. However, uncertainty is the only certain characteristic of today's business environment and successful organisations are pursuing resilience to survive and grow.

PwC says it is confident that Cypriot business leaders will pursue the changes and strategies necessary to overcome the difficulties and successfully exit the current crisis.

Key Findings:

Confidence in growth

According to the 16th Annual Global CEO Survey, the majority (34%) of CEOs in Cyprus, in the Eurozone (43%) and globally (45%) are somewhat confident about their company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months.

CEOs in Cyprus are more optimistic about their company's revenue growth prospects for the next three years. The percentage of CEOs who stated “very confident” reaches 25%, an increase of 22 percentage points compared to the percentage recorded last year. A total of 69% stated “somewhat confident” representing an increase of 40 percentage points. In contrast, the percentage of Cypriot CEOs who are “not confident at all” drops to 3% compared to 45% recorded last year.

Potential opportunities and investment priorities

CEOs in Cyprus view organic growth in the domestic market (25%) and the development of new products or services (25%) as the main opportunities for growth over the next 12 months followed by new operations in foreign markets (22%), organic growth in existing foreign markets (16%) and a new M&A, joint venture and strategic alliance (13%).

Pressures and threats

Uncertain economic growth and the government’s response to fiscal deficit and debt burden may have a negative impact in business activity. This is confirmed by 91% of Cypriot CEOs, 86% of CEOs in the Eurozone and 81% of CEOs at a global level.

Full report: 16th Annual Global CEO Survey Country summary: Adapting to the new reality - Key findings in Cyprus