China has topped a list of countries considered most important to manufacturers for econmic growth, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers that surveyed 1,200 business leaders.
The findings are from PwC’s Growth Reimagined: Industrial Manufacturing Survey, a sector cut of the 14th PwC Global CEO Survey launched earlier this year. Over 1,200 business leaders and manufacturers from 69 countries took part in the initial survey (including 76 industrial manufacturing leaders across 30 countries).
When asked which countries do you consider most important for growth over the next three years, China scored top with 58%, followed by India with 32%, then USA, Brazil, Germany, Russia and UK with 8%. The list featured 59 countries and 27 scored zero.
Customer demand, uncertainty over economic growth and concerns over a rapidly shrinking talent pool are the top three concerns of business leaders.
Looking ahead, emerging markets will be a key source for new talent pools, the report says, although emerging markets will still play a big part. Graeme Billings, Global Industrial Products Leader at PwC, said:
“The war for talent is particularly acute in rapidly emerging markets. Many businesses are therefore stepping up the overseas deployment of key employees. The number of international assignments among multinationals has increased 25% over the past decade, and PwC predicts that will grow by another 50% over the next 10 years.”
As the world economy is still recovering from the worst economic crisis in 75 years, leaders polled expect recovery to come out of emerging markets of Latin America and Asia – particularly China. Other trends in the IM report show that manufacturers are directing more focus towards customers and on innovation opportunities as part of their growth plans. In addition, 43% of industrial manufacturers are increasing their commitment to innovation and safeguarding intellectual property compared to just 33% of CEOs in the overall sample.
When asked about innovation, 70% of the 76 manufacturing leaders said environmentally produced products would be an important part of their strategy, and 56% do not believe government assistance will play any part in boosting their innovation output.
