Southeast Asian leaders confident in APEC growth – survey

Majority of Southeast Asian leaders are optimistic about the economic growth within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, but less than half expressed the same sentiment for the global economy, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte.

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

The British multinational firm surveyed 1,252 senior APEC business leaders across 18 economies, including the Philippines, in over a dozen industries to gather their insights on the growth of their companies and the global economy.

The respondents included more than 270 leaders in Southeast Asia, according to Deloitte.

Deloitte noted that three-fourths of the surveyed Southeast Asian leaders expressed confidence in the opportunities within the APEC region, while 66 percent were optimistic about the region's overall economy.

However, only 46 percent of Southeast Asian leaders expressed positive sentiment toward the global economy, the survey showed.