Thornton survey hits a sanguine note

The phrase 'India Shining' may have sank many a political fortune, but a majority of Indian entrepreneurs and CEOs are still the most optimistic, not just about the country's economy, but also their businesses and overall employment generation for the next one year, according to management consultancy Grant Thornton's latest International Business Owners' Survey.

Nearly 83 per cent Indian entreprenuers surveyed, felt extremely gung ho about the country's economy growth. Such high levels of optimism is not reflected by businessmen in any other Asian or developing nation.

India is followed by Australia, US and Canada in the confidence. Interestingly, contrary to perceptions that the Japanese economy is on the upswing again, respondents from Japan were the most pessimistic.

The survey cites Indian economy's strong fundamentals, increased foreign investment and stability in politics and government regulations, as the reasons for the booming confidence. Not surprisingly, the study was undertaken in October 2003.

About 80 per cent Indians said that they expected their revenues to go up this year, which was way above the global average of 58 per cent. India was ranked fourth on this parameter, behind Indonesia, US and Turkey.Optimism on employment generation in India was nearly 12 per centage points above the global of 25.

Nearly a half of the Indian businessmen also expected to see much increased investments in the plants and machinery, and construction.

Western European countries like France, Germany and The Netherlands had weak investment expectations.

The phrase 'India Shining' may have sank many a political fortune, but a vast majority of Indian entrepreneurs and CEOs still remain the most optimistic in the world, not just about the country's economy, but also their businesses and overall employment generation for the next one year, according to management consultancy Grant Thornton's latest International Business Owners Survey.

Nearly 83 per cent Indian entreprenuers surveyed, felt extremely gung-ho about the country's economy growth. Such high levels of optimism is not reflected by businessmen in any other Asian or developing nation.

India is followed by Australia, US and Canada in the confidence. Interestingly, contrary to perceptions that the Japanese economy is on the upswing again, respondents from Japan were the most pessimistic.

The survey cites Indian economy's strong fundamentals, increased foreign investment and stability in politics and government regulations, as the reasons for the booming confidence. Not surprisingly, the study was undertaken in October 2003.

About 80 per cent Indians said that they expected their revenues to go up this year, which was way above the global average of 58 per cent. India was ranked fourth on this parameter, behind Indonesia, US and Turkey.Optimism on employment generation in India was nearly 12 per centage points above the global of 25.

Nearly a half of the Indian businessmen also expected to see much increased investments in the plants and machinery, and construction. Western European countries like France, Germany and The Netherlands had weak investment expectations.

Despite a sharp appreciation of the Rupee against the dollar, the survey said that Turkish and Indian businesses were the most upbeat when it comes to exports. Worries about competitiveness kept the east Asian countries most cautious about export growth.

In line with falling prices in the FMCG and consumer durables sector, Indians did not forsee an increase in selling price with just 26 per cent of the respondents expecting an increase.

However, 65 per cent expected better profitability, indicating the growing efficiency of Indian businesses. Infact, India was third on the profitabilty-optimism list behind Indonesia and US.