A survey of Chinese corporate bosses shows there is plenty of confidence left in the higher echelons of the country's business world.

CEOs in China see more opportunities for their businesses today than they did three years ago, shrugging off recent economic worries, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey says. While the domestic economy is going through upheavals, business leaders in China are confident about their companies’ growth prospects over the next three years. 

However, the China-focused report of PwC’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey also shows that around four in five business leaders in China are concerned about over-regulation and an increasing tax burden.

“Despite experiencing economic slowdown and noted volatility in domestic and foreign financial markets, executives in China are devising strategies to drive future growth,” said David Wu, PwC China Beijing senior partner. 

China’s economy has been slowing down and its markets have tumbled in recent months, as 2015 marked the slowest growth in a quarter of a century. Seen as a driver of the global economy, the country’s growth is a major concern for investors around the world. Market indices tumbled last year and continued to perform poorly in January. At the time of going to press, the MSCI China Index of equities is down 5.67 per cent since January.

“While executives in China see disruptions, particularly from new market entrants and the speed of technological advancement, they are adapting via a raft of strategic tools including partnerships, M&A, and use of technologies to deliver on changing customer expectations,” Wu added.

According to the survey, global investing is becoming increasingly popular in regards to opportunities and growth prospects. The three major countries (apart from China) executives consider as most important to their businesses’ growth prospects over the next months are the US (34 per cent), a drop from 43 per cent compared to 2015, followed by India (12 per cent) and Cambodia (10 per cent). 

Furthermore, customers and consumers continue to have an influence as CEOs think they have a “high” or “very high impact” on their organisations’ strategy. In fact, 97 per cent of executives in China are making changes in response to changing stakeholder expectations in the area of workforce rights and wellbeing, while 91 per cent of CEOs are changing how they define and manage risks. 

The 19th Global CEO Survey covered over 1400 executives from 83 countries and a range of sectors. The China-focused report represents the views of 145 executives based in China.