China tops global growth markets in PwC survey

China remains on top of the most important growth markets globally, though local CEOs have concerns about increasing tax burden and the lack of stability in the capital market, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) latest annual global CEO survey released on Monday.

Thirty-three percent of 1,344 global CEOs from 68 countries and regions believe that China is the most important growth market for their corporations this year, PwC's 17th annual report stated. In last year's survey, 31 percent of the senior executives said the same.

In terms of importance, China is followed by the US which won 30 percent of the executives' votes, and Germany with a 17 percent share among the executives surveyed.

It is interesting to notice that 62 percent of Japanese executives regarded China as the most important market for growth, while only 15 percent of China's CEOs said Japan's market is the most important for them, PwC said.

"The survey shows that China is still the most important growth driver for the global economy, and Japan's reliance on China is greater than China's dependence on the Japanese economy," said David Wu, a partner at PwC China, at a press conference on Monday.

A recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China also indicates that China remains in the top three destinations for foreign investment, and over 70 percent of the American firms still plan to increase investment in this country for 2014.

Increasing tax burden followed by rising labor costs and lack of stability in capital markets are the top three concerns of China's executives, the PwC's survey showed.

Various administrative fees add to the tax burden of corporates, Wu said.

Fifty-six of the CEOs in China surveyed said that ensuring financial sector stability and access to affordable capital is what they want most from the government, followed by 53 percent hoping that authorities can create a more internationally competitive and efficient tax system.

Corporations' financing is heavily reliant on bank loans, and China's A-share market financing is not always reliable, Wu told the Global Times on Monday.

About 70-80 percent of the corporate financing is in the form of bank loans, Wu said.

Long intervals for IPOs add to the uncertainty of the stock market, he noted.

The A-share IPO review is to be resumed on Wednesday after a 18-month hiatus since the IPO reform, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), which is trying to sort out the new listings of about 600 cash-starved firms that have been in a queue since the end of 2012.

On the other hand, the A shares have been hit by concerns about a potential stock oversupply after the CSRC released draft prospectuses for 122 new firms planning to list as of Friday.

"A new worry is that China is entering a tricky period of moving to a more market- and risk-based financial sector," rating agency Standard & Poor's said in a report e-mailed to the Global Times on Monday.

A source of risk lies with the fast-growing shadow banking activities or credit outside the banking sector, especially the high-yield wealth management products sold through the State-guaranteed banks for fueling debt-laden local government financing vehicles and bubbling property market, according to the S&P.