Canadian CEOs -- ready, reserved and consistent. (News and Views).

A KPMG study conducted earlier this year by Ipsos-Reid suggests that the majority of Canada's chief executives are confident that their businesses have what it takes to compete globally. But only four in 10 plan to break into new markets this year. The results come from the Eighth Annual Canada's Most Respected Corporations Survey.

Activity, which is defined as expanding into new markets either inside or outside of Canada, is ninth on the priority list (Out of 12) that CEOs have for 2003. The top priorities include being prudent with the long-term financial health of the company; increasing productivity and performance improvement; and attracting and retaining high calibre employees.

While a healthy 40% believe it's a priority for their company to expand into new markets, most (60%) believe the opposite -- that it's more important to consolidate their current market than to expand. Canadian CEOs have consistently held this position since 1999.

High on the list of priorities (with those issues mentioned above) were customer loyalty growth, risk management, and increasing short-term profitability. Lower on the list of priorities, surprisingly, was corporate governance (still a healthy 67%), planning to expand into new markets inside or outside Canada, expanding new products and services, transparency and public reporting, and growth through mergers and acquisitions.

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