Three in five multinational companies expect costs to rise due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, which is spurring their adoption of artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing to offset financial pressure, according to a Standard Chartered survey on Wednesday.
About 62 per cent of top executives surveyed predicted cost increases of 5 to 14 per cent in the next three to five years. Cost concerns were pronounced among Asean companies because of financial pressure from supply chain realignment, tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty affecting trade routes.
“We are seeing strong demand from clients to evolve their global trade and supply chain ecosystems and accelerate the adoption of smart manufacturing and AI to drive efficiencies and offset rising costs,” said Sunil Kaushal, CEO for Asean and South Asia at Standard Chartered.
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The survey polled 1,200 C-suite executives and other senior leaders from July to early August across 17 global markets, including the Middle East, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, mainland China and Asean.
Sunil Kaushal is the CEO for Asean and South Asia at Standard Chartered. Photo: Handout alt=Sunil Kaushal is the CEO for Asean and South Asia at Standard Chartered. Photo: Handout>
The rise of AI and digital assets has made technological innovations as important as economic growth patterns and trade tariffs when formulating global supply chain strategies, with 53 per cent of respondents ranking each as the top strategic drivers shaping the future of global trade.
The survey found nearly 40 per cent of companies were using digital supply chain finance platforms to capture market opportunities, while an additional 55 per cent planned to adopt them within the next two years.
Six markets had emerged as key hubs for global sourcing, manufacturing and exports, namely India, Malaysia, mainland China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and the US. Meanwhile, around 40 per cent of respondents from the US and the UK planned to maintain their current level of trading activities in mainland China.
Companies in India and mainland China placed greater emphasis on global economic growth when shaping their trade outlook than companies in other markets surveyed. Asia was expected to grow trade ties with the Middle East, according to the survey.
The survey also found industries in mainland China were moving up the global value chain, transitioning from labour-intensive manufacturing to higher value-added products, enabled by technologies such as AI, robotics and renewable energy, alongside efforts to boost domestic consumption.
“Chinese corporates are playing an even greater role in the cross-border trade as the global supply chains are being reshaped,” said Anthony Lin, head of transaction banking for Hong Kong and Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered. “Being a superconnector and a gateway to mainland China, Hong Kong is well-positioned to seize the opportunities arising from these growing cross-border trade flows.”
A separate survey released on Wednesday by Tencent Holdings-backed fintech start-up Airwallex found that Hong Kong companies share the same cost concerns highlighted by multinational firms in the Standard Chartered study.
Three in five Hong Kong businesses were suffering from rising operational costs and margin erosion caused by foreign exchange fluctuations and global trade tensions, the Airwallex survey found.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
