He said: “The short term is about how to manage cost pressures and the longer term is about supply chains, climate, technological disruption.” Bosses need to take action now to “survive two years to thrive in the next 10″ while ensuring they have the capital to deploy for the future.

Loading

Last year, chief executives were worried about cybersecurity, health and climate threats. Moritz said the climate crisis remained an urgent issue. “I’m not concerned it’s dropped down the lists. Things are relative — 60% to 70% of chief executives are already taking action,” he said.

Geopolitical threats are not isolated to Russia and China. “If Russia-Ukraine can happen, what else?” Moritz asked. “What about the Middle East and the role of Iran? Even the Inflation Reduction Act in the US is a potential risk.” The IRA’s hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies for clean energy projects is causing geopolitical tensions in Europe.

On staffing, 60 per cent of bosses do not plan to reduce headcount and 80 per cent will not cut compensation as they hang on to employees rather than go through expensive recruitment processes. Staff churn is expected to be high once again this year.

“Power remains with workers who have the right skills,” Moritz said.

Business leaders in France, Germany and the UK are even less optimistic about domestic growth than global expansion.

However, the UK has improved as a chosen business location with chief executives ranking it the third most important country for revenue growth, behind the US and China and equal with Germany. It has previously never ranked higher than fourth.

Bloomberg

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.