American Express/CFO Global Business & Spending Monitor forecasts modest business expansion, R&D, M&A and increased headcounts.
Big plans for hiring are afoot in Hong Kong, with 60% of Hong Kong-based
CFOs planning to increase headcount over the next twelve months. Senior
finance executives worldwide are also expressing moderate optimism about
the prospects for economic growth over the next twelve months. This according to the fifth annual American Express/CFO Research Global Business & Spending Monitor: a survey of over 500 senior finance executives from the US, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Australia and Asia.
Optimistic outlook
Finance executives continue to be optimistic about the economy. This year, 57% of Hong Kong executives—compared to 64% of all respondents—report expectations for ‘modest’ or ‘substantial’ expansion over the next twelve months. This figure is, however, significantly lower than the 79% recorded in 2011. In terms of when the global economy will gain strength, nearly half of the
world’s finance executives believe that ‘robust’ economic growth will return in
their countries by the end of this year. Hong Kong’s finance executives are most
bullish, with 83% of them expecting the local economy to return to robust growth by the fourth quarter of 2012.
Help wanted
With expected improvement in economic conditions, the majority of Hong Kong
CFOs say that they plan to increase headcount over the next twelve months
with only 26% saying they plan to reduce jobs. This is slightly more positive than the situation in other countries surveyed, where 53% of all respondents express intention to hire while 30% plan to decrease headcounts, likely because of
persistent economic uncertainty in some other markets.
More Specialists
A majority of companies that are hiring will be looking to acquire specialised skills, expertise or experience: 60% for Hong Kong and 53% of companies overall. This motivation for hiring comes in well ahead of ‘adding jobs in order to expand production capacity’: 17% for Hong Kong; 20% of companies overall or ‘restoring capabilities that were reduced in recent years’: 20% for Hong Kong and 17% of companies overall.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
