In one global survey, cyberattacks and data breaches ranked first consistently, followed by economic challenges and business interruptions.

In a biennial survey of almost 3,000 risk managers, C-suite leaders and other executives from 61 countries and territories on the most-pressing business challenges, the 2022 data analyzed has yielded some characterizations for the Asia Pacific region (defined here as “primarily Australia, India, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and China” among 14 other countries) in 2023.

After placing second in 2021, cyberattack and data breaches ranked as the top risk for Asia Pacific businesses in the survey for 2023.

The number two risk in the Asia Pacific region was economic slowdown/slow recovery. Nevertheless, respondents expected inflation to recede faster in this region than in others, falling to target levels by 2024 rather than 2025.

Top 10 business risks

The Asia Pacific data showed the following, ranked in order of severity:

    1. Cyberattacks/data breaches
    2. Economic slowdown/slow recovery
    3. Business interruptions
    4. Failure to attract/retain top talent
    5. Rapidly changing market trends
    6. Supply chain/distribution failure
    7. Regulatory/legislative changes
    8. Increasing competition
    9. Failure to innovate/meet customer needs
    10. Commodity price risk/scarcity of materials

The top 10 risks distilled from the global data were:

    1. Cyberattacks/data breaches
    2. Business interruption
    3. Economic slowdown/slow recovery
    4. Failure to attract or retain top talent
    5. Regulatory/legislative changes
    6. Supply chain/distribution failure
    7. Commodity price risk/scarcity of materials
    8. Damage to reputation/brand
    9. Failure to innovate/meet customer needs
    10. Increasing competition

According to Anne Corona, CEO (Asia Pacific), Aon PLC which conducted the survey: “As leaders look to the future of their businesses in an increasingly volatile world, newer and emerging threats continue to reshape their views of risk and sharpen their need to make better decisions. With cyber risks, data breach, economic slowdown and business interruption identified as top risks for businesses facing the Asia Pacific today, there is a compelling need for a shift in mindsets around… using data and analytics and experts to advise on the dynamics of long-tail risks.”

Climate change risks did not make it to the rankings.