PwC to aggressively grow China workforce as part of US$1.25bn investment

Accounting firm PwC will create 20,000 new jobs in China over the next five years, doubling its China workforce as part of its US$1.25 billion investment. According to a report from Financial Times, the expansion plan for China will double PwC’s China workforce, making it almost twice the size of the company’s UK operations, which employs approximately 22,000 people. The company also relies on its APAC divisions to create revenue as the region generated US$8.9 billion of fees for the company in 2021, almost 20% of PwC’s global turnover.

The report also quoted PwC’s Asia Pacific and China chairman Raymund Chao that the firm will continue to "support and contribute to China’s major national strategies to drive towards an enduring outcome of continued growth and development for its economy.”

Currently, PwC offices are in major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, in addition to operations in Hong Kong and Macau. The investment will allow it to enhance service offerings to clients in the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and digital transformations.

The expansion plan is part of the firm's “The New Equation” strategy, focusing on building trust and delivering sustained outcomes. It will create 100,000 net new jobs to expand its capabilities to help clients respond to the expectations of their stakeholders and society. Also, PwC will create leadership institutes. The first one will be headquartered in the US, empowering more than 10,000 C-suite leaders, executives and board members to build trust. 

In addition, the company will continue to rapidly expand its use of cloud, AI, VR and other emerging technologies to deliver insights and drive competitive advantage for clients. Earlier this year, PwC Singapore said it will be investing SG$50 million over the next five years to launch an ESG Centre of Excellence to build up capabilities in environmental, social and governance as part of its "The New Equation". 

Over the next year, the company will be hiring for over 300 positions for its Singapore operations across a wide range of competencies and experiences. PwC also targets to admit 10 new partners annually over the next five years, including new market hires, and build teams around them as it expands its capabilities. It recently brought on board six new partners to build on its list of crucial areas.

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