Asia-Pacific surpasses US in corporate priorities ahead of 2026, driven by AI and deal activity surge

Asia-Pacific has risen to the top of corporate agendas as global chief executives and institutional investors head into 2026, driven by expectations of stronger economic conditions, rising deal activity and a surge in artificial intelligence spending, according to Teneo’s Vision 2026 research.

The advisory firm’s study, which canvassed more than 350 public-company CEOs and 400 institutional investors representing over AUD $28.5 trillion in company and portfolio value, finds that 82% of surveyed CEOs view the Asia-Pacific region as an attractive investment opportunity for their businesses in 2026. APAC-based leaders reported greater optimism on deal activity than peers elsewhere, even as the United States remains the single most attractive market overall for corporate investment.

“Following record CEO and investor confidence in the wake of the U.S. elections last year, we continue to see optimism for 2026 with most expecting at least a short-term increase in hiring as well as increased M&A activity and international and domestic investment,” Paul Keary, CEO of Teneo, said in the report. He attributed much of the U.S. appeal to policies supporting technological advancement and regulatory streamlining that create a pro-growth environment.

The broader macro outlook in the Vision 2026 report is notably upbeat: 73% of CEOs and 82% of investors expect global economic conditions to improve in 2026. That optimism, while slightly lower than the exceptionally high expectations recorded for 2025, remains strong by historical standards. However, confidence varies by company size: the proportion of large-cap CEOs forecasting growth fell by about 20 percentage points year-on-year, a shift Teneo links to concerns over global trade, geopolitics and technological disruption. Mid-cap executives and investors retained a more bullish stance.

M&A prospects are particularly buoyant. Roughly three in four CEOs and investors expect an increase in deal activity next year, with healthcare and resources leaders the most upbeat, followed by industrials and technology. Respondents most often cited high capital costs as the principal barrier to getting deals done. Investors in the survey also reported favourable financing conditions: around 41% said they were very optimistic about access to equity funding, a similar share felt very optimistic about debt markets, and 45% were very optimistic about the affordability of debt.

Within Asia-Pacific, executives signalled a nuanced reassessment of global supply chains and geopolitical trends. Fifty-five per cent of regional respondents expect deglobalisation to accelerate, slightly below the 60% global average. China remains central to corporate strategy because of its market scale, manufacturing base and role in technology and innovation, and respondents ranked it as an “extremely important” priority now and over the next five years. At the same time, CEOs increasingly view India as a rising strategic priority: many expect India to surpass China in strategic importance within the next decade, seeing it as a long-term demand engine and source of talent.

Artificial intelligence sits at the centre of corporate plans for 2026. Teneo reports that 68% of CEOs plan to increase AI spending next year and that 88% of CEOs and 84% of investors believe AI is already helping businesses manage disruption. Yet the survey highlights a widening gulf between company and investor expectations on the timing of returns. A majority of large-cap CEOs, 84%, predict AI initiatives will take more than six months to deliver a return on investment, while 53% of investors expect ROI within six months or less, a tension the report warns will intensify.

“AI spending is set to rise again in 2026, with 68% of CEOs planning to increase their investment,” Ursula Burns, Chairwoman of Teneo, said in the report. “Along with that investment, an increase in new skilled hires across all seniority levels will help deliver on corporate AI ambitions. Investors, however, are becoming increasingly impatient for ROI on these AI investments, creating a tension that will be important to watch in the year ahead.”

Current AI programmes remain mixed in their outcomes: fewer than half of projects are currently ROI‑positive, though respondents report measurable gains in internal efficiencies, administrative tasks and customer-facing applications, notably marketing and customer service. CEOs identified security, legal and HR uses as high-potential but higher-risk areas because of their complexity.

Contrary to fears that automation will cut jobs, the survey suggests AI will expand headcount in the near term. Most CEOs expect AI initiatives to drive hiring in 2026: 67% forecast growth in entry-level roles and 58% anticipate increases in senior leadership positions. Companies are reorganising workforces around AI delivery, prioritising augmentation of roles and upskilling, half of CEOs named augmentation a primary focus for 2026 while 46% emphasised talent upskilling. Executives singled out AI, innovation and agility as essential leadership skills for the next generation, while creativity remained the most prized human attribute among executive teams.

Teneo cautions that these attitudes will be monitored as 2026 approaches to see whether investor impatience for rapid AI payback alters spending patterns, M&A appetite or regional investment strategies. The survey covered public companies with at least USD $1 billion in annual revenue and a global set of professional investors across banking, asset management, private equity, venture investing and hedge funds, giving the findings weight as companies balance geographic priorities, geopolitical uncertainty and the urgent race for commercially meaningful AI returns.