B&R Initiative continues to lift confidence of Chinese firms in overseas expansion, EY report

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Belt and Road Initiative continues to boost the confidence of the Chinese companies in overseas expansion amid the uncertainties in international trade, according to the 2018 Ernst & Young (EY) Growth Barometer released on July 24.

The report showed that 43 percent of China's senior executives surveyed expect their companies to grow by more than 10 percent in the next 12 months, compared with 24 percent in the rest of the world.

The survey found 35 percent of respondents see entry into new international markets as their strategic growth priority, with 27 percent of them citing overseas expansion as central to evaluating new business ventures.

Meanwhile, 40 percent of Chinese respondents see regulation as the prime driver of innovation and 28 percent of them believe that more regulation would be the best government action to boost growth. In addition, 78 percent of them are planning IPOs, almost twice that for the rest of the world.

Terence Ho, strategic growth markets and IPO leader of EY China, says that, "China's dynamic middle market is set to achieve exceptional growth rates with its sights firmly set on international expansion, EY Growth Barometer 2018 reveals."

Chinese entrepreneurs are harnessing domestic technology expertise, homegrown talent and process efficiency to fuel growth. Meanwhile, the Chinese government and regulators have been active in bolstering the development of the new economy and supporting companies such as unicorns through taxation and priority for IPOs, says Ho.

The report also revealed challenges faced by Chinese enterprises, which include insufficient cash flow, evolving sales cycles, industry convergence, unpredictable online buying patterns, the move from bricks-and-mortar to e-commerce, as well as slow or flat global growth

The survey was conducted with 2,766 CEOs, founders or managing directors of the companies from 21 countries and regions and each with annual revenues of 1 million U.S dollars to 3 billion U.S. dollars. (Edited by Yang Qi, kateqiyang@xinhua.org)