CEOs see recovery in 3 years, says survey

MANILA, Philippines — A majority of chief executive officers (CEO) expect the Philippine economy to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic in three years, according to a survey of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and PwC Philippines.

Results of the MAP PwC 2021 Mid-Year CEO Survey presented in a webinar yesterday showed that 70 percent of the 131 respondents see the economy recovering within three years.

PwC Philippines chairman emeritus Alex Cabrera said the survey, conducted from April to May this year, was aimed at gauging the impact of the pandemic on businesses in the country.

The survey covered CEOs from micro (two percent), small (six percent), medium (31 percent) and large (62 percent) businesses in the financial services, manufacturing, transport and logistics, real estate and wholesale distribution, professional and business services, technology, consumer and retail, business process outsourcing, and energy and utilities sectors.

In terms of revenue outlook, 85 percent of CEOs said they expect growth over the next three years while 63 percent are confident of revenue growth over the next 12 months.

Asked about the effect of the pandemic, 47 percent said it had a significant impact on their operations and is causing great concern.

The survey showed 40 percent of businesses incurred losses of more than 20 percent last year.

Major factors that contributed to losses last year were lower sales with customers also affected by the pandemic (44 percent), outlet closures (34 percent), lower demand (28 percent) and supply chain concerns (21 percent).

The survey showed 73 percent of CEOs still expect revenue losses this year from the impact of the pandemic.

In response to the health crisis, CEOs are implementing recovery plans in the next 12 months such as sustainable practices (57 percent), launching new products or services (52 percent), exploring new market channels (49 percent), deferment of planned investments (31 percent) and restructuring employee benefits (31 percent).

A majority or 70 percent of the CEOs also said they have no plans of raising additional financing in the next three to six months.

When it comes to vaccination against the virus, 69 percent of CEOs said they expect their workforce to be fully inoculated within the year.

Beyond the pandemic, 76 percent of CEOs said up to 50 percent of their workforce would be working from home on a permanent basis.

“That explains all the adjustments they will do insofar as employee benefits are concerned,” Cabrera said.

To help businesses recover, 79 percent of CEOs said the government should have an effective and equitable vaccination program.

Other government actions identified by CEOs to support businesses are tax incentives (45 percent), creation of a recovery plan per sector (40 percent) and reopening the economy (40 percent).