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(Bloomberg) — Chief executive officers in Canada are getting more concerned about the domestic economy, though most are still bullish on their own companies’ prospects over the next few years, according to a survey commissioned by KPMG.
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Almost 60% of Canadian CEOs say economic uncertainty is their biggest current challenge — slightly higher than the 53% of CEOs globally who said that. The proportion of top executives who expressed confidence in the three-year growth outlook for Canada’s economy was 83%, a decline of six percentage points from last year.
KPMG’s annual CEO survey underscores weakening confidence by corporate leaders — a fact that’s also illustrated by soft business investment data. Recent figures from Statistics Canada point to an economy that expanded at a 1% annualized pace in the third quarter, well below the Bank of Canada’s forecast.
The central bank will release updated projections for the economy on Oct. 23, the date of its next interest rate decision.
Executives of smaller businesses appear to be a little more optimistic than the heads of larger companies about growth for the economy and for their own firms, the survey KPMG said. But they’re more worried about “growing protectionist attitudes,” the advisory firm said.
KPMG surveyed 1,325 CEOs globally of companies with more than $500 million in revenue, including 75 in Canada. It also polled 735 leaders or owners of small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses.
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