Asia Report - Winter 2011
Making Sense of the Eurozone Crisis
FTI Consulting
January 15, 2012
Rod Sutton
Chairman, Asia Pacific Region
A recent FTI Consulting survey of more than 800 top executives in Asia, the Middle East and North America found that two-thirds (64%) of the respondents expected at least one of the 17 eurozone members to abandon the euro, and just three in 10 (31%) believed the European Union (EU) will begin to recover from the crisis in 2012.
Asian companies are more likely to find investment opportunities in Europe than those based in the Middle East or North America.
This was evenly reflected across the main regions surveyed and it appears that companies are preparing for the worst by demanding changes in contracts with the eurozone to include exit scenarios as the euro debt crisis drags on.
The research was conducted online by the Strategy Consulting and Research team of FTI Consulting in early January 2012, and sampled responses from C-suite executives involved in strategic decisions for their private organisations. Respondents were selected based on the known amount of trade they currently conduct with countries in the EU and their prospects for increased prominence. A total of 351 respondents were from Asia, with 133 of those from Mainland China and 62 from Hong Kong.
Results from the survey show that Asian companies are more likely to find investment opportunities in the EU than those based in the Middle East or North America. Forty-five percent of companies in Asia reported that they were presently conducting or looking to do business in Europe in the next 12 months, compared with just 14% in the Middle East and 7% in North America. A large majority of companies are looking to invest in innovation and half are focused on organic growth (50% overall and 67% in Asia, with a massive 80% for China).