58% of CEOs in India expect a recession to be mild and short: KPMG survey

At least 58 per cent of chief executive officers (CEOs) in India expect a recession to be “mild and short", but a large number of them compared to counterparts globally, estimate the recession to hit global earnings by up to 10 per cent, a report said on Monday.

According to KPMG 2022 India CEO Outlook, which asked over 125 CEOs about their strategies, stated 66 per cent CEOs in India compared to 86 per cent globally anticipating a recession to hit over the next year, Livemint reported.

Eighty-six per cent CEOs in India compared to 71 per cent CEOs globally predicting it will impact company earnings by up to 10 per cent, it added.

The study by consulting firm KPMG noted that pandemic fatigue, economic factors- including the threat of rising interest rates, inflation and anticipated recession and reputational risk, top the list of most pressing concerns for CEOs in India today.

“Be it the business ecosystem, or supply chain or issues pertaining to talent, the magnitude of these challenges has altered dramatically and what matters is how agile business leaders are to respond," said Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO, KPMG in India.

“CEOs in India surveyed appear confident in their organisation’s resilience, they also seem to have prepared themselves to make the most of the current environment, brought on by the promise of technology, talent and ESG," he added.

According to the KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook, about 46 per cent of global chief executive officers (CEOs) are considering downsizing their workforce over the next six months while 39 per cent have already implemented a hiring freeze.

The survey, which was conducted with 1,325 CEOs between July 12 and August 24, 2022, revealed that majority of leaders are confident about the global economy's growth prospects over the next three years.

As companies continue to navigate the changing landscape resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, 85 per cent of global CEOs report positive growth expectations in 2022; steady from earlier this year and down slightly from 2021 (87 per cent), it said.