Four out of the top five risks for doing business in Asia Pacific are economic risks, according to the APAC results of the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2017.
Produced in partnership with Zurich Insurance, the «Global Risks Report 2017» reveals the biggest risks for doing business in Asia Pacific (APAC).
The results of this year’s Global Risks Report again highlight how economic risks continue to dominate APAC respondents’ concerns, with four of the top five risks being economic risks.
Unemployment and Asset Bubbles
18 out of 20 APAC countries rank economic risks within the top three biggest threats to doing business.
Environmental risks fell in the rankings, while cyber and terrorism threats emerged as risks of increasing concern for companies doing business in APAC.
Divergence on Cyberattacks
Natural catastrophes dropped three places to seventh place, with no other environmental risk appearing in the top ten risks for doing business in APAC.
Surprisingly Cyberattacks were ranked only the sixth biggest risk to doing business in APAC - however Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore all single out cyberattacks as a top three risk.
Recent geopolitical developments have boosted terrorism as a concern in both developed and developing countries including Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines and Pakistan.
Top ten risks for doing business in APAC:
«The potential impact of environmental risks on supply chains is a very real example of how companies that fail to plan for and mitigate these risks can suffer from their crippling logistical and financial impact,» said Geoffrey Au, APAC Chief Risk Officer, Zurich Insurance Group.
Increasing Concern of Cyberattacks and Terrorism
In a complex environment, which cost the global economy an estimated $315 billion through cybercrime in 2015, $81 billion of which was lost in APAC, executives in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore single out cyberattacks as a top three risk of highest concern.
The increasing reliance on the internet introduces significant new risks too.
With the region presenting a volatile geopolitical landscape, the risk of terrorism, which has never previously featured in the top ten risks for doing business in APAC, also emerged as the ninth risk of greatest concern. Pakistan, Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines and Thailand, among others, all highlighted the risk of terrorism.
