Russian company bosses more buoyant about their 2012 future

The Heads of Russian companies are getting more optimistic about the domestic economic outlook, according to the PriceWaterhouseCooopers (PwC) Global survey.

Almost half of Russian CEOs are 'very confident' of domestic growth over the next year, down from 60% last year. That is still better than the global average of 40%. The PwC Annual Global survey is based on more than a thousand interviews with company bosses in 60 countries around the world. The emerging BRIC markets and the United States and Germany, top the list of the most “influential” economies in 2012. Both developed and developing countries agree that growing economies would play a bigger role in deciding the future for their companies.Speaking to RT at the World Economic Forum in Davos, David Gray, Managing Partner at PwC Russia says, “I think the level of risk in the Russian market is greatly exaggerated. I’ve been there for 17 years and I’ve seen ups and downs. It’s either that the risk is exaggerated or the opportunities are underestimated. I think, there are fantastic opportunities for domestic Russian companies and also for inbound investment.”

General expectations about the global economic outlook aren’t that rosy though, with half of the CEOs saying the global economy will decline during the next 12 months. Russian heads are even less optimistic, with just 4% of them expecting an upturn.“CEOs are disappointed with the course of the global economy and the pace of recovery. The optimism that had been building cautiously since 2008 has begun to recede,” explained Dennis M. Nally, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International.