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DAVOS

Business confidence struggling: Davos survey

Top business leaders are less gloomy about the prospects for the global economy than last year but hardly brimming with confidence for 2013, according to a major survey released on the eve of the Davos forum.

Business confidence struggling: Davos survey
Movie actress Charlize Theron speaks at the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award Ceremony. Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP

International chief executives are also less confident than last year about growth prospects for their own companies, according to the survey of 1,330 CEOs conducted by financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Only 28 percent of CEOs said they expected the global economy to decline further in 2013, against 48 percent last year, while 52 percent expected it to remain stable.

But only 36 percent said they were "very confident" in their company's growth prospects in the next 12 months, down from 40 percent last year and 48 percent in 2011.

"It's a little bit more positive than last year" in terms of predictions for the global economy, the chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International, Dennis Nally, said at the release of the survey.

"CEOs are saying we're seeing another year where the economy is reluctant to recover," he said.

"It's not all doom and gloom, but we see an economy that is struggling to get traction."

Despite steps to shore up faith in the eurozone, Western European business leaders were the most pessimistic among the surveyed CEOs, with just 22 percent saying they were very confident of growth, down from 27 percent last year.

North American, Asia Pacific and African CEOs were also less confident, but Latin American executives bucked the trend, with 53 percent expressing confidence in the short-term, up slightly from last year.

For individual countries, Russian executives were the most confident, with 66 percent saying they had high expectations of revenue growth.

Asked about their concrete concerns, topping the list was continued uncertainty over economic growth, with 81 percent of business leaders concerned.

Other top worries included fiscal deficits, "over-regulation", lack of stability on capital markets and "the increasing tax burden", PwC said.
 
The World Economic Forum is a global gathering of top political and business leaders at the ski resort of Davos that starts officially on Wednesday.

However, related activities got under way in the mountain town on Tuesday with the Crystal Award Ceremony.

Among those honoured at the ceremony was South African actress Charlize Theron, a noted HIV/AIDS campaigner.

Reviving the global economy and the conflicts in Syria and Mali will top the agenda as world leaders and business chiefs meet at the annual gathering of international power brokers.

The Swiss Army has mobilized 3,300 soldiers to ward off trouble at the Davos summit, which typically attracts demonstrators.

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DAVOS

Switzerland: 2021 Davos summit shifted to Lucerne in May

The World Economic Forum announced Wednesday that its postponed 2021 Davos summit, themed as "The Great Reset" in the coronavirus crisis, will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland from May 18 to 21.

Switzerland: 2021 Davos summit shifted to Lucerne in May
Participants at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2020. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The annual gathering of the world's political, economic and business elite traditionally takes place in January against the idyllic snowy backdrop of the Swiss Alpine village of Davos.

But it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and, charged with remodelling the world economy in the wake of the crisis, will now be held 125 kilometres (75 miles) away in the plush Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne.

“The meeting will take place as long as all conditions are in place to guarantee the health and safety of participants and the host community,” WEF spokesman Adrian Monck said in a statement.

“The meeting will focus on the solutions required to address the world's most pressing challenges. “Global leaders will come together to design a common recovery path, to shape 'The Great Reset' in the post-Covid-19 era and rebuild a more cohesive and sustainable society.”

Hybrid format

The WEF announced in June that the 51st edition of its annual meeting would take place in a hybrid format, then in August said it was being delayed for several months to reduce any risks to participants from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Lucerne summit will combine both in-person and virtual elements, with participants linked to a network of around 400 hubs worldwide to incorporate dialogue with the WEF's “young global shapers, to ensure openness and inclusion”, said Monck.

The summit will be preceded during the week of January 25 by digitally-convened high-level “Davos Dialogues”, when global leaders will share their views on the state of the world in 2021.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1.04 million people while at least 35.5 million infections have been recorded since the outbreak emerged in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The pandemic has also triggered a global economic downturn, though the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that while it is far from over, it will not be as bad as originally feared thanks to a flood of government spending.

The World Trade Organization said likewise, forecasting a global trade contraction of 9.2 percent this year, rather than its previous “optimistic scenario” prediction of 12.9 percent.

But global trade will then grow by only 7.2 percent next year, rather than the previous 21.3-percent estimate issued in April, the WTO added.

Swiss cases rising

The WEF announcement comes as Switzerland announced Wednesday that daily coronavirus cases had jumped over the 1,000-mark for the first time since April 1, when the peak of the pandemic's initial wave began to recede.

Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset has urged the country to “get a grip” and be more rigorous in applying the basic measures to control the spread of the virus.

The 2020 edition of the WEF summit, hosted in January just as the world was beginning to become aware of the new coronavirus spreading in China, drew more than 50 heads of state and government to Davos.

It focused on themes of sustainability and finding a more inclusive model for capitalism. US President Donald Trump and Swedish teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg were among its top speakers.

The WEF said it aims to be back in Davos for 2022.

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