Deloitte APEC CEO Survey 2025: CEOs Adopt "Expansive Resilience" Amid Uncertainty, Accelerate Growth Through Innovation and Regional Economic Collaboration

Hong Kong, 29 October 2025 – Deloitte's inaugural APEC CEO Survey report, 'Bridging the Certainty Gap', sets out to gauge executive sentiment across the APEC region by examining business leaders’ perspectives on their organisations and the global economy, as well as their views on risk, opportunity, capital strategy, sustainability, geopolitics, and the influence of emerging technologies and AI.

The survey gathered insights from 1,252 senior APEC business leaders across 18 economies and over a dozen industries, spanning multinationals, regional enterprises, and fast-growing private firms. The results highlight that APEC CEOs are redefining uncertainty as a source of strength, embracing a mindset of ‘expansive resilience’ aimed at converting volatility into competitive business advantage.

Key Findings:

• Nearly half (49%) of APEC CEO leaders identify geopolitical instability as the greatest risk to business growth now and in the next three years.
• Seven in 10 CEOs surveyed are optimistic about their own company’s outlook, despite less than half (45%) expressing the same sentiment for the global economy.
• 42% of CEOs identify technology application as their primary growth driver today; over the next three years, innovation and new products take precedence.
• 60% of companies now leverage live AI in two or more business functions, with adoption highest in IT/cybersecurity (42%) and sales/marketing/customer service (40%).
• 52% of APEC CEO leaders plan to broaden or diversify their supply chains within the next year, many building strategic resilience through regional hubs, alternative suppliers, and comprehensive digital oversight of supplier performance and logistics.
• More than half (59%) of CEOs intend to increase sustainability investment this year, up 29% on last year, with 55% affirming sustainability plays a significant role in their capital strategy.
• Appetite for M&A and bold capital decisions is rising: 39% plan to actively pursue deals in the next year, a trend likely to increase to 59% in the next 3 years.

Growth: Levers, Pivots and Pathways

APEC CEOs continue to prioritise growth, but their strategies are shifting. Emphasis on operational efficiency is giving way to innovation-led expansion and new cross-border value opportunities.

Commenting on the report, David Hill, Deloitte Asia Pacific’s CEO said: “APEC CEOs are not backing down from uncertainty. They’re embracing what we call ‘Expansive Resilience’: turning disruption into opportunity and volatility into advantage. Seven in ten CEOs surveyed remain confident in their company’s performance. These leaders are transforming supply chains for resilience, increasing investments in sustainability and AI, and displaying an optimism that evidences a ‘Certainty Gap’ - ambitious regionally, more cautious globally. Our Survey findings make it clear that APEC Business Leaders are on the front foot, capitalising on complexity to propel the region forward.”

Disruptors and Direction

The dynamic and fast changing environment that emerges from the survey is creating new demands on organisations and their CEOs.

While 42% of CEOs surveyed currently identify technology application as their top growth lever, that focus is set to shift: in three years, 42% will prioritise new products and innovation (up from 29% today). Geographic expansion is also gaining momentum, with executives expecting half their revenue to come from APEC economies, rising from 19% today to 37% in three years.

Capital: Divergent Expectations

Across the APEC region, six in 10 leaders anticipate easier access to capital within three years, influencing a wide range of strategies. Companies are preparing not just to defend balance sheets, but to deploy capital offensively through M&A, partnerships, and bold plays for market share.

Some Consumer industry leaders expect capital availability to rise sharply over the next three years, alongside Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) company leaders potentially foreshadowing an upsurge in deal-making. Appetite is strongest in Energy, Resources and Industrials (ER&I) and the Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) industry, where 65% and 63% of respondents are planning M&A activity.

By firm size and geography, smaller and mid-sized enterprises are optimistic about gradually improving capital access, whereas only 42% of the largest firms (with revenues over US$10 billion) share this confidence, likely due to greater macroeconomic exposure.

Regionally, ambition is greatest in maturing markets. Latin America leads, with 71% of respondents anticipating actively pursuing M&A-driven growth in the next three years, followed by Northeast Asia (64%), Southeast Asia (61%), and North America (54%).

Operations and Supply Chain: Building Future Resilience

For APEC CEOs, supply chains are increasingly seen as strategic assets: adaptive, agile, and significant contributors to competitive strategy.

This year, 52% of APEC CEOs will expand or diversify their supply chains, many building strategic resilience through regional hubs, alternative suppliers, and digital visibility of supplier performance and logistics flows. Only 17% of CEOs surveyed will invest in keeping their supply chains as they are.

Meanwhile, technology remains the cornerstone of operational resilience. Over half of APEC leaders (53%) surveyed will prioritise AI and automation this year, with TMT (70%) and North America (60%) leading the charge. Cybersecurity (41%) continues to remain top of mind for APEC CEOs, alongside inventory planning and workforce cross-training.

An accelerating need for computing capacity in new data centres will help propel APEC-wide upgrades to physical infrastructure, growing from a priority for 19% of APEC’s leaders today to 30% in three years.

“With the searing pace of AI adoption, investment and innovation, more APEC leaders are recognising the potential of its revolutionary impact on business models, economies, and society. The critical challenge is bridging the certainty gap—understanding how AI can be harnessed effectively and at what cost," added Rob Hillard, Deloitte Asia Pacific Consulting Businesses Leader.

Sustainability Momentum

Sustainability is also surging in importance, climbing from eighth on the list of perceived strategy disruptors this year to third over the next three years.

More than half (59%) of APEC CEOs surveyed will boost sustainability investment this year, up from 29% last year. But plans diverge in how that capital is applied: while some focus on the energy transition, infrastructure, and compliance others are focused on customer-facing innovation and brand-led growth.

China sets the pace, dominating clean technology supply chains from critical minerals to solar, wind, and batteries. Others are advancing: 76% of Latin American leaders' rate sustainability as central, recognising its potential to attract capital and fulfil customer expectations, while 69% of respondents in Southeast Asia and 68% in Northeast Asia view it as critical to capital strategy.

For more insights from the Deloitte APEC CEO Survey 2025, visit https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/apec-ceo-survey.html

Deloitte is the Knowledge Partner for the APEC CEO Summit 2025, visit https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/events/apec-ceo-summit-2025.html

Methodology

The Deloitte APEC CEO Survey 2025 reflects the views of 1,252 corporate leaders across the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region, representing 18 economies and spanning over a dozen major industries. The survey focuses on the issues that matter to CEOs and corporate leaders, respondents included CEOs, equivalent senior executives (leaders of multinational corporations and regional enterprises) making up 43% of respondents, and other C-suite executives.

It is important to recognise the survey’s context: conducted in July 2025, it reflects a period characterised by a changing geopolitical landscape, shifting global capital markets, and the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). These contextual factors may well have influenced responses, particularly regarding investment sentiment, cost of capital, and expectations for supply chain resilience.