A growing share of Asia-Pacific chief executives are preparing to break out of their traditional lanes, as cyber threats, sluggish confidence and long-term viability fears force a strategic reset.
According to PricewaterhouseCooper’s 29th Global CEO Survey, 37 percent of APAC CEOs plan to expand beyond their core industries within three years. The poll, which gathered insights from 4,454 leaders worldwide, including 1,766 from the region, underscores a decisive tilt toward reinvention.
Globally, 53 percent are eyeing moves into new sectors. The urgency is even more pronounced in the Philippines. In the Philippine CEO Survey 2025, 52 percent of respondents warned their companies may not remain economically viable beyond a decade if they stay on their current trajectory.
Cyber risk tops the threat matrix. Thirty-nine percent of APAC CEOs say they feel highly exposed to cyberattacks, making it the region’s No. 1 concern. In the Philippines, the alarm is louder: 84 percent of chief executives cite cyber as a key threat to growth.
Expansion ambitions are targeting technology, health services, asset and wealth management, logistics, retail and industrial manufacturing.
Among APAC firms that have already diversified, 61 percent say at least a tenth of revenues over the past five years came from competing in new sectors.
Still, caution tempers bold talk. Only 21 percent of APAC CEOs express strong confidence in near-term revenue growth, and just 28 percent expect to pursue major acquisitions. Philippine dealmaking has similarly turned selective.
Artificial intelligence offers promise but uneven payoff. While 39 percent of regional CEOs report AI-driven revenue gains, many Philippine firms remain in early-stage adoption—suggesting that scaling innovation, not piloting it, will determine who thrives in a landscape where sector lines are rapidly blurring.
