Saudi CEOs the ‘most optimistic’ in GCC, says PwC study

Nearly 90 per cent of CEOs in Saudi Arabia have expressed confidence in the Kingdom’s economic growth potential, according to a PwC survey.

The auditing company’s latest annual report reveals that 89 per cent of Saudi Arabian CEOs expressed confidence in their country’s economic prospects, far ahead of the global average of 44 per cent. Meanwhile, Saudi CEOs are also more upbeat than the Middle East average of 73 per cent and GCC average of 81 per cent.

The results aren’t surprising considering the fact that the Kingdom has become one of the world’s hottest economies. The size of Saudi Arabia’s GDP has surpassed the $1tn mark in the last two years and is expected to hit $1.3tn in 2028, according to PwC.

Ever since kickstarting its Vision 2030 initiative back in 2016, Saudi Arabia has also steadily climbed the global economic ladder, becoming the 17th largest by GDP in 2022. 

“There is no doubt that CEOs in Saudi Arabia have confidence in Vision 2030. It has brought about a massive and fast transformation in the country, leading to strong economic growth,” said Riyadh Al Najjar, PwC Middle East Chairman of the Board & KSA Country Senior Partner.

“The reforms are aimed at reducing oil dependency, diversifying the economy and increasing competitiveness. Moving ahead, we expect business leaders to continue reinventing their businesses to remain agile and sustainable in the long-term,” Najjar added.

PwC’s Saudi Arabia findings

Digging deeper into PwC’s findings, the auditors found that more than half of Saudi Arabia’s CEOs (54 per cent) are extremely confident in their company’s revenue growth for the next 12 months versus the 37 per cent global average.

Moreover, 74 per cent of Saudi CEOs said they are likely to increase headcounts in the coming months, amid the growing scale of projects and economic reforms in the kingdom.

Just 40 per cent of CEOs in Saudi said they were “moderately confident”. But even this figure is higher than the 32 per cent global average. 

Other highlights of the PwC study revolved around the imperative to evolve, partnerships, tech transformation, generative AI and climate.

• On the imperative to evolve 49 per cent of Saudi CEOs indicated that their company won’t be viable in 10 year’s time if they continue on their current path. This compares against 45 per cent of global CEOs.
• In terms of partnerships and alliances, more than 50 per cent of Saudi CEOs said that government regulations and supply chain instability are key factors influencing how their businesses create, deliver and capture value.
• With tech transformation, more than 60 per cent of Saudi CEOs believe that technological change and customer preference will be the primary factors driving major changes in their business models over the next three years. CEOs in the Kingdom are also concerned about cyber risks, with 40 per cent indicating they were moderately exposed and 20 per cent highly-and-extremely-exposed to such risks in the next 12 months.
• More than half of Saudi Arabia’s CEOs (54 per cent) said GenAI (or ‘Generative AI’) will improve the quality of their companies’ products and services. Meanwhile, 71 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s CEOs expect that workforces will need to develop new skills amid the GenAI wave while 66 per cent of CEOs in the Kingdom think that AI will help increase revenue.
• Interestingly, Saudi Arabian CEOs also show the highest levels of climate concern (29 per cent), more so than their regional (15 per cent) and global (12 per cent) counterparts. 

Meanwhile, Stephen Anderson, Middle East Strategy Leader at PwC Middle East, added: “Besides the heightened optimism about the future, CEOs in Saudi Arabia also understand the need to evolve to remain agile and viable in the next few years. Strategic partnerships, adoption of technologies, such as GenAI, and a definitive drive to incorporate climate resilience practices in their business models, are all contributing to strengthening their ability to keep pace with rapid transformation.”