Night view of Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan. [Photo/VCG] TAIPEI -- An increasing number of companies in Taiwan consider the Chinese mainland the most important market for their growth in 2019, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by PwC Taiwan. Three-quarters of surveyed CEOs of Taiwan enterprises said the Chinese mainland remains the most important market in 2019, up from 72 percent last year, revealed PwC Taiwan. As part of PwC's annual global CEO survey of 1,378 CEOs, the PwC Taiwan conducted interviews with 245 CEOs from sectors of technology, telecom, consumption, manufacturing, industrial, health, energy and public resources, and finance services during October-December 2018. Among the interviewed chief executives of Taiwan enterprises, 52 percent viewed the United States as the most important market for growth this year, down from 59 percent in 2018, while 23 percent, 18 percent and 14 percent of Taiwan CEOs considered Japan, Vietnam and Germany, respectively, as their most important market. When asked about the global economic outlook this year, Taiwan CEOs were the most pessimistic among their peers from major economies, as 47 percent of respondents in Taiwan predicted a decline in global economic growth, compared with 8 percent last year. The proportion marked the highest level since 2013 in Taiwan, well above the 29 percent shared among global CEOs. Only 27 percent of Taiwan CEOs projected higher global economic growth in 2019, compared with 42 percent globally. In terms of revenue growth for their own companies this year, only 19 percent of Taiwan CEOs said they are very confident, compared with 35 percent of global CEOs. The proportion touched the lowest revenue confidence level since 2016, according to the PwC survey. This sends a very bad signal, said PwC Taiwan CEO Chou Chien-hung, who led the survey. For Taiwan CEOs, 2019 will be the most stressful year with the fiercest competition. According to the survey results, Taiwan CEOs viewed trade conflicts, geopolitical uncertainty and policy uncertainty as the potential threats they are most worried about, while other CEOs considered unstable exchange rates, protectionism and uncertainty in economic growth to be the most prominent threats. About 40 percent of the surveyed CEOs were from companies with an annual business turnover between 100 million U.S. dollars to 999 million U.S. dollars, while 39 percent represented those with annual revenues below 100 million U.S. dollars. wholesale custom wristbandsblank wristbandrubber braceletscustom awareness wristbandscustom mantra bracelets
Three young Chinese were honored Tuesday as the winners of an environmental project contest for their ideas and efforts in environmental and ecological protection.The project, Young Champion of the Earth in China, was jointly launched by Chinese social network Sina Weibo and the United Nations Environment Programme in April. It aims to seek budding eco-warriors, aged 18 to 30, who have inspiring ideas on how to save the environment.After a five-month online poll and review by an experts' panel, Wang Miao, Luo Yi and Zhu Chuanhui stood out from hundreds of candidates, and were named champions for their performance in safeguarding oceans, improving sustainable development in rural areas and advocating environmental protection through comic books.Zhu, for example, is the author of Andy's Adventure, a fairy tale that introduces nature, wildlife and how important it is to protect the environment.The comic is based on a 10-year-old boy in cartoon form called Andy. Zhu said after receiving the award that he hopes the story can guide more children to understand what the world is and how to save the earth.Many young people on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like online platform, are interested in environmental protection and engaged in charities, "so providing the new generation with such a chance will contribute to leading the country in safeguarding our environment and beautifying our country," a statement from the company said.Xu Zheng, a popular Chinese film director and actor, also participated in Tuesday's award ceremony and shared his experiences and opinions on protecting the environment, as well."Environmental protection not only needs ideas, but also action," he said. "What the three winners are doing is a good example for the public, which will encourage more people to join the team."
