Chinese CEOs have less confidence about growth

China's CEOs have less confidence in their companies' growth prospects this year compared to 2014, a report released by PwC showed on Tuesday, the first drop compared with global CEO confidence since 2010.

According to the survey, which was conducted among 136 CEOs in the Chinese mainland, only 36 percent of the surveyed CEOs are "very confident" of their companies' growth in the next 12 months, down 11 percentage points from 2014.

Thirty-nine percent of global CEOs surveyed expressed confidence for 2015, the same as in 2014, the report showed.

A lack of talents, competition, speed of technological change, an increasing tax burden, and shifts in consumer behaviors are the top five concerns for CEOs, the report said. Last year, the top five concerns were the increase of tax burdens, rising labor costs, lack of stability in the capital market, over-regulation, bribery and corruption in 2014.

More than half of the Chinese CEOs (55 percent) believe the government's top priority in 2015 should be to create a more internationally competitive and efficient tax system.

In terms of deriving value from digital technologies, only 67 percent of CEOs in China have a clear vision of how technologies could help them achieve advantages, compared with the global average of 86 percent, and 92 percent in the US, the report said.

Planned joint ventures, alliance and restructuring activity have jumped in 2014 as companies look for new ways to deliver growth. Six out of 10 CEOs in China are looking to undertake a joint venture or alliance in the next 12 months, an increase of 18 percentage points from last year.

Despite these challenges, it is not all doom and gloom for the Chinese CEOs. Almost 71 percent say there are more growth opportunities for their company now than there were three years ago. Meanwhile, 57 percent are planning to increase company head count in the next 12 months.

China's economy is rebalancing and entering a "new normal" phase and CEOs have to work hard to find growth in the domestic economy as it undergoes a major transformation and the global economy is marked by disruptive forces, Wu Weijun, PwC China Beijing Senior Partner, said Tuesday.