Turning pressure into progress

Asia Pacific CEOs move toward 2026 with resilience tested and reinvention underway

In this year’s survey, conducted with 1,766 Asia Pacific CEOs as part of PwC’s 29th Global CEO survey of 4,454 chief executives across 95 countries and territories, leaders look ahead to 2026 as pressures test resilience.

Momentum for business model reinvention is accelerating, as CEOs see revenue growth from entering new sectors, yet this ambition is forming against a more complex risk backdrop. Confidence in the global economy remains, but confidence in near-term revenue growth is softening as leaders contend with persistent pressures from inflation to tariff uncertainty. While tariffs are not biting as hard as some might expect, with many forming deeper intra-regional partnerships, some CEOs feel exposed.  

Cyber risks stand out this year, clearly surpassing all other threats for Asia Pacific CEOs. It’s the only region in the global survey where they do so. This highlights how rapidly digital risk has climbed the agenda. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is delivering significant value for some, ahead of global peers, but uneven foundations are widening the gap between experimentation and performance.

CEOs are focused on protecting near-term resilience, with acquisition and investment plans pulling back, even as they look beyond their traditional industry boundaries for future growth. For those willing to move, the prize is considerable. PwC’s Value in Motion research points to US$49.99 trillion of potential value across Asia Pacific through to 2035.    

Among key findings from this year’s survey:

• CEO confidence in their company’s short-term revenue prospects has softened. Only 21% now say they are very or extremely confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from 34% in 2025 and below global peers (30%).

• CEOs feel more exposed across every risk, but cyber risks stand apart. Nearly four in ten (39%) feel highly or extremely exposed. This makes Asia Pacific the only region in the survey where cyber risks clearly surpass all other threats, ahead of economic pressures. Tariffs are not biting as hard as some might expect. Less than a quarter (24%) of CEOs feel very exposed. 

• Artificial intelligence is delivering, but not uniformly. Nearly four in ten CEOs (39%) report that AI has driven additional revenues over the past 12 months, ahead of global peers (30%). Over a quarter (26%) are also seeing tangible cost reductions. Some are achieving both at the same time (15%). Half report little to no financial upside at all. 

• CEOs are focused on the near term and are more cautious with capital allocation. Just 28% plan to pursue at least one major acquisition over the next three years, down from 54% last year, and 60% have no plans for international investments in the next 12 months, up from 44% last year. 

• When CEOs move into new sectors, the payoff is clear. 61% report that more than 10% of revenue over the past five years came from these new sectors.

• Appetite for reinvention is building. More than a third of CEOs (37%) plan to grow beyond their traditional industry boundaries over the next three years.

Asia Pacific CEOs remain optimistic on global growth, with 59% expecting global economic conditions to improve over the next 12 months, broadly in line with global peers.   

This confidence is being reinforced by conditions close to home. Asia Pacific continues to outperform expectations, anchoring global growth despite bearing the brunt of US tariffs and heightened policy uncertainty. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects growth of 4.1% in 2026, easing modestly from 4.5% in 2025, contributing around 60% of global growth. Inflation pressures are also expected to moderate across most markets.¹

This resilience is not accidental. It reflects a combination of front-loaded exports ahead of tariff changes, a surge in technology-led investment, and generally accommodative macroeconomic policy that has helped sustain momentum.

The question now is durability. How long will these economic levers help? Deep challenges remain. Asia Pacific has grown more slowly this decade than in the last², and risks to the outlook persist. Tariffs could still escalate, supply chains remain vulnerable, and tighter rules-of-origin or financial conditions could readily emerge as headwinds.

So, how does this confidence translate to assessing their own revenue growth? 

Confidence among Asia Pacific CEOs in their own company’s revenue prospects has softened over the past year. Only 21% now say they are very or extremely confident about their company’s revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from 34% in 2025 and below global peers (30%). Confidence improves over the three-year horizon, with over half (51%) expressing high confidence. Why the difference?

The dip in short-term optimism likely reflects a combination of factors. Front-loaded exports in 2024 pulled revenue forward, making the year ahead look flatter by comparison. Slower growth in China may be adding to the drag³, while ongoing trade volatility continues to make short-term planning harder for many CEOs. 

Looking further ahead, the more positive picture may reflect an expectation of things ‘normalising’, with trade volatility levelling out. It may also be fuelled by the belief that ongoing investments in digital, AI and supply-chain resilience will start to deliver results over the medium term.

When asked about threats to their business over the next 12 months, perceived risk exposure rises across every threat. Cyber risks now stand out as the top concern, with 39% of CEOs feeling highly or extremely exposed in 2026, more than global at 31%. Notably, Asia Pacific is the only region in the global survey where cyber risks clearly surpass all others to be the number one threat, underscoring how sharply digital risk has moved up the agenda.   

Why are cyber risks so pronounced here? The region’s advanced digital ecosystem continues to expand the cyber-attack surface, from the shift from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, to hosting domestic and global cloud hyperscalers, managing vast cross-border data flows, and pursuing region-wide payment connectivity.   

At the same time, digital change is often outpacing organisational readiness. Fragmented regulation across jurisdictions can weaken resilience, while increasingly complex supply chains widen exposure. All of this is playing out as AI-enabled threats raise the sophistication of cybercrime, in a region already among the most targeted globally for cyber and ransomware attacks.⁴ Deepfakes, in particular, are emerging as a fast-growing risk, with Asia Pacific recording one of the sharpest increases globally in recent years.⁵

Economic pressures remain close behind cyber risks. CEOs’ perceived exposure to macroeconomic volatility and inflation continues to rise from 2024 to now.

Tariffs are not biting as hard as some might expect. Less than a quarter (24%) of CEOs feel very exposed. And when asked separately about the expected impact on their company’s net profit margin over the next 12 months, 51% expect little to no change. This resilience reflects a strategic shift in trade. Many organisations are re-routing supply chains and deepening intra-regional partnerships to reduce tariff exposure. The China-ASEAN corridor is a clear example, with Chinese EV manufacturers establishing production hubs in Southeast Asia to serve regional demand.⁶

Meanwhile, the low perceived risk from climate change (17%) and social inequality (11%) is concerning. Asia Pacific is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, with over half (53%) of the region’s economic gross value added (GVA), moderately or highly dependent on nature. Perhaps ‘green hushing’ is on the rise; progress is underway, but it’s communicated cautiously.⁷

Social inequality seems under-recognised, but its impact will be felt. As risks rise across the board, organisations are under pressure to cut costs, automate, and move faster. Yet, reskilling and upskilling of the workforce isn’t keeping pace, according to employees in our last Asia Pacific Workforce Hopes and Fears survey. The consequences of this will surface, in productivity, participation, and social cohesion.

The signal is clear: risk in Asia Pacific isn’t narrowing; it’s broadening. CEOs are navigating a more complex, more interconnected threat landscape, where resilience depends on managing multiple pressures at once.

Asia Pacific CEOs are seeing value from AI. Nearly four in ten (39%) report that AI has driven additional revenues over the past 12 months, ahead of global peers (30%). 

And 26% are also seeing tangible cost reductions as AI moves from experimentation into day-to-day operations. 

A select set of organisations are achieving both at the same time (15%). They are turning AI into a true performance lever, using it to grow revenues while lowering costs.

At the other end of the spectrum, half report little to no financial upside at all.

This gap reflects what we see on the ground. Many organisations are at the start of their AI journey. Much of the initial focus has been bottom-up: building confidence, expanding access, and lifting everyday productivity. This has delivered early productivity gains, but it hasn’t yet translated into consistent enterprise-level impact. 
 
Attention is now shifting from proof of concept to proof of value, moving from experimentation to business-led, top-down adoption tied directly to growth. A shift from ‘doing things differently’, to doing entirely different things, such as rethinking business models and new value streams altogether. That transition is underway, but for most, the returns are still emerging rather than fully realised.

The foundations for AI are taking shape but they’re uneven. Only 26% of organisations report strong AI foundations across at least six of seven core areas including culture, technology environment, strategy/AI roadmap, Responsible AI, talent, investment, and data.

The remaining 74% are building in pockets, capable in parts but not yet set up to consistently turn AI into enterprise-wide impact.

The scores of these foundation areas help explain the adoption-outcomes gap. 

Many organisations score well on intent-led enablers such as culture, technology environment and strategy/AI roadmap, all over 60%. But fewer have the practical foundations that convert adoption into sustained value, including formalised Responsible AI and risk processes (54%), ability to attract technical AI talent (54%), sufficient investment (49%), and data access (31%).  

While just over half feel confident they can attract high-quality technical AI talent, the bigger challenge is the transition of the existing workforce. AI is reshaping roles at scale, and it’s particularly challenging in a region with large workforces. 

The low score for data access is a clear constraint. Understanding what data exists, its quality, and whether it’s fit for AI use is fundamental. Without it, AI can’t deliver meaningful value, regardless of intent or investment.

Above all, leadership binds these foundations together. Culture may be seen as supportive, but permission matters. In hierarchical environments, people need explicit encouragement to use AI as part of their work. When AI is treated as an extension of the workforce, embedded into operating and business models and not treated as a standalone technology, foundations start to translate into outcomes. 

The survey results above reinforce that picture. Organisations with stronger AI foundations are twice as likely to see revenue increase and cost reduction from AI. 

Among those with foundations in at least six core areas, 62% report revenue growth from AI, compared with 30% of those with more limited foundations. The same pattern holds on costs: 39% of organisations with stronger foundations report cost reductions, versus just 20% where foundations are less developed.

The message is simple. Value follows readiness. 

Many Asia Pacific CEOs expect employment levels for junior employees to decline (45%) as AI automates routine, entry-level tasks. At the same time, 38% expect junior roles to increase, highlighting a clear divergence in how organisations view early-career work. 

Organisations must rethink how they bring new talent into the workforce and provide meaningful early-career development. Future junior roles are likely to place greater emphasis on curiosity, critical thinking and problem-solving, with technical execution increasingly handled by AI.

The picture stabilises at mid-level, 46% expect employment levels to increase, while a further 33% anticipate little to no change. This tallies with the need for ‘good’ human-in-the-loop oversight. Mid-level employees play a critical role in validating AI outputs, applying judgement and managing risk, particularly given ongoing concerns around trust and accuracy. 

What most concerns Asia Pacific CEOs mirrors global sentiment: whether business transformation is keeping pace with technological change, whether their innovation capability is adequate, and whether they are doing enough to remain viable over the medium to long term.

The tension is in the time available to act. With 79% of CEO schedules focused on short- to medium-term priorities (0-5 years), it raises a clear question about how much capacity remains for the long-term transformation they know is critical.

Are CEOs misallocating their time, or simply stretched by competing pressures? 

This near-term focus also shows up in CEOs’ capital allocation decisions. Just 28% plan to pursue at least one major acquisition over the next three years, well below global peers (41%) and a sharp drop from last year (54%).

The same pattern is evident in investment plans. Over the next 12 months, 60% of CEOs don’t plan any international investments, up from 44% last year. Where investment does occur, it is increasingly closer to home. The top three territories they plan to invest in are the US, Vietnam and Chinese Mainland. This reflects a push for sovereign and organisational resilience amid geopolitical tension, tariffs, and supply-chain risk.  

Fewer CEOs entered new sectors or industries they hadn’t previously competed in over the past five years (29%, down from 35% in 2025). 

Yet when Asia Pacific leaders did move, the returns were meaningful. 61% report that more than 10% of revenue over the past five years came from these new sectors, underlining the scale of value at stake.

In contrast, global exploration into new sectors or industries is rising, with 42% of CEOs now competing in new areas, up from 38% last year. Across our full sample of more than 4,500 CEOs, this shift is also associated with stronger outcomes: a higher share of revenue from new sectors correlates with higher profit margins and greater confidence in future growth prospects. 

It’s encouraging to see that future intent among Asia Pacific CEOs is shifting. More than a third (37%) plan to expand beyond their traditional industry boundaries over the next three years. They will target adjacent and fast-moving sectors such as:

• Technology (20%) 

• Health services (16%)

• Assets and wealth management (14%) 

• Transportation and logistics (12%)

• Retail (12%) 

• Industrial manufacturing (12%)

 
The implication is clear: Value is still in motion, but with volatility high and rules still shifting, CEOs are prioritising resilience now while preparing to shift into new sources of value next.

Turn uncertainty into options

The priority now is to pressure-test your organisation against a wider set of scenarios, such as cyber disruption, tariff shifts, supply-chain shocks and policy change, and to treat this as an ongoing discipline, not a one-off exercise. Diversification, both inbound and outbound, becomes critical to keeping your growth options open. It reduces reliance on any single supplier, market or trade route, and gives you more flexibility as conditions shift. Uncertainty can also unlock opportunity. As technology lowers barriers to entry, you can build on what already differentiates your business, extending core capabilities into new areas through new technologies, partnerships or selective acquisitions. Cybersecurity should remain a lead indicator of resilience. And trade strategies need to keep evolving, with deeper intra-regional partnerships to reduce tariff exposure. In a more complex risk environment, advantage belongs to organisations with options and the resilience to act on them when conditions shift.  

Turn potential into performance

AI is starting to pay off, but only when you’re set up to capture the value. The signal from the data is clear: experimentation alone won’t get you there. Momentum builds when AI is tied to growth, embedded into how the business runs, and backed by strong foundations in data, talent, investment, and Responsible AI. That calls for visible leadership, leading the cultural shift personally, not delegating it. Giving people ‘permission’ to use AI. Shifting from pilots to priorities. And rethinking roles, skills and pathways so your workforce grows with the technology, not around it. Early-career pathways in particular need redesigning now. When organisational readiness comes first, value follows, and AI becomes a performance lever, not a standalone initiative. 

Reinvent to outperform

As the survey shows, reinvention is paying off with leaders venturing into new sectors outpacing their peers. So, while near-term risks demand attention, outperformance comes from intentionally carving out time, capital, and leadership focus for reinvention. This means looking hard at your business model and value chain, upstream and downstream, to understand where value can be created next. It also means asking a sharper question: if a new, unconstrained competitor were starting today, what would they do differently to capture more value?

We’ve identified six Corridors of Value across Asia Pacific, reinvention channels that show how organisations can unlock regional potential by rethinking how value is created and shared. These corridors stitch together business, policy, infrastructure, and finance moving beyond transactional trade toward collaboration and co-creation. They connect capabilities across borders and sectors, such as linking resource endowments, financial hubs and midstream manufacturing, to strategic battery, chip and clean-tech industries, employing new business models and partnerships across the public and private sectors. Corridors of Value can ease the frictions that trap value within borders and convert Asia Pacific’s diverse strengths into genuinely shared, durable regional advantages in a more volatile world. In doing so, they present a practical way to tap into the US$49.99 trillion of Value in Motion by 2035.