Despite an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, global appetite for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) marks a record of the past 10 years, according to the 20th edition of the Global Capital Confidence Barometer (CCB) report, a biannual study on over 2,900 executives from 47 countries. Nearly six out of ten global companies (59%) are now planning to make a purchase next year, rising from 52% to 12 months ago.

„Romania continues to be attractive to foreign investors as a result of rising consumption and purchasing power. The sectors of interest are both traditional ones, such as oil and gas or energy, and technology, which show increased effervescence,” says Florin Vasilica, Transaction Advisory Services Leader, EY Romania.

Also, executives expect their counterparts to be active at the negotiating table, with 92% of respondents predicting the global M&A market will rise in the next year, compared with 86% in April 2018.

M&A intentions are supported by greater trust among corporations. In contrast to the opinion of many economists who predict a slower growth, and despite geopolitical uncertainties, executives around the world are more optimistic about macroeconomic outlook. An overwhelming majority of respondents (93%) believe that the global economy is improving, marking a 20% increase in positive expectations compared to 73% a year ago. This ambitious outlook of the CEOs is reflected by optimistic estimates of their future performance: 76% of respondents expect revenue growth between 6% and 15% over the next year.

Although it focuses on transactions and growth, executives do not lose sight of the risks. One third of them (33%) believe that the main reason for concern is a potential slowdown in economic growth, although it is not expected to take place. A similar number of executives (27%) believe that geopolitical, commercial and regulatory uncertainties represent the greatest external risks for the development of their companies.