A December 2014 survey of 704 senior executives based in Asia found that they expect higher revenue growth for their firms in 2015 in Asia (including Australia and New Zealand). The fastest growth is expected in China, Southeast Asia and India, at 10.1%, 9.3% and 8.8%, respectively. For the chemical industry, the highest expected rates of revenue growth are for India, China and Southeast Asia, at 8.9%, 7.6% and 6.4%, respectively, with predicted drops of 6.3% and 2.5% in South Korea and Japan, respectively. In pharmaceuticals and health care, growth of 8.3%, 7.0% and 5.0% is projected for South Korea, India, and Australia and New Zealand, with declines of 13.6%, 11.5% and 10.4% expected for China, India and Southeast Asia, respectively. The countries in which most of the executives’ companies plan to increase investments in 2015 are China, Indonesia and India, with 71%, 60% and 58% of respondents indicating higher investments in the respective nations. According to the survey in 2014, global, non-Asian companies conducted 12% of their R&D in Asia, and expected it to grow to 18% by 2019. This R&D represented 20% of global revenues and is expect to account for 29% by 2019.

Source: The Economist Corporate Network