Executives See Internet Changing Banking, Consumer Products

Asian CEOs expect the banking and consumer-product sectors to feel the biggest impact from e-business over the next two years. About 47% of the 334 CEOs surveyed by the World Economic Forum and PricewaterhouseCoopers said they expect new competitors to use the Internet to move into banking markets. The survey findings released in October predict that the next most-affected industries would be those that sold consumer products. More than three-quarters of Asian CEOs believe that e-commerce will have a significant impact on competition in their industries. Yet oddly enough, 62% said that it will have only some or no impact on their brand strategy.