REUTERS - Business sentiment at Asia's top companies remained upbeat at the start of 2015 with Indian companies turning in the region's most positive outlook for the fourth straight quarter, buoyed by confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic reform agenda.
Optimism was tempered by firms in China, where the government expects economic growth to slow from 2014. Sentiment in the world's second-largest economy was marginally higher than the midway score of 50, the point at which sentiment is regarded as positive.
The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index, representing the six-month outlook at 111 respondents, was 71 for the first quarter of 2015 versus 72 in the previous three months.
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AUSTRALIA: STEEPEST DECLINE AT 70 VS 85 IN Q4
Australian firms logged the biggest fall in optimism in the first quarter, losing 15 points from their highest-ever reading just three months earlier. Of the 15 respondents, eight had positive outlooks, five neutral and two negative.
Companies said new orders and employment levels improved from the previous quarter, with one-third reporting increased staff.
The majority of Australian companies flagged global economic uncertainty as their top concern, while two firms said the domestic economy was the main worry.
CHINA: BETTER OUTLOOK AT 54 VS 50 IN Q4
Sentiment in China rose slightly from the lowest positive reading of 50, with just one of 14 respondents having a bright outlook and the rest pointing to neutral. Six firms booked higher new orders versus seven in the previous quarter, and only one took on more staff versus two in the previous three months.
China set an economic growth target of around 7 percent for 2015 during the first quarter, but growth in investment, retail sales and factory output all missed analyst estimates in January and February, falling to multi-year lows.
Despite the slowing growth at home, the biggest perceived risk for eight respondents was the global economic uncertainty, with rising costs also cited.
INDIA: STILL MOST OPTIMISTIC AT 97 VS 100 IN Q4
Companies in India expressed the most positive business outlook for the fourth straight quarter with a reading of 97, missing the maximum score of 100 for the first time in a year.
High expectations for the government of pro-business Prime Minister Narendra Modi lifted the index, with 14 of 15 respondents reporting a positive outlook; 12 booking increased new orders and seven adding staff.
Rising costs and global economic uncertainty, however, were the top worries cited by seven and five respondents respectively.
JAPAN: FIRMLY POSITIVE AT 64 VS 56 IN Q4
Optimism in Japan hit its highest since the second quarter of 2010, after the economy emerged from recession towards the end of last year. But domestic economic uncertainty was flagged as a primary cause of concern, with a decline in capital expenditure in the fourth quarter, a sign that a rebound in consumer spending is not encouraging business investment.
Of 18 respondents, 11 expressed a neutral outlook while one was negative, with more companies reporting increased employment than in the last quarter.
SOUTH KOREA: OPTIMISM DENTED AT 68 VS 75 IN Q4
Business confidence in South Korea took a dip in a quarter when Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said economic recovery was weak.
Five of 14 respondents said their outlook was positive while the rest were neutral, with most concerns related to the global economy. On the upside, nine firms booked an increase in new orders versus six in the previous quarter.
TAIWAN: CONFIDENCE DIPS TO 67 VS 71 IN Q4
The outlook of Taiwanese corporations in the first quarter was little changed, with two companies reporting higher employment versus four in the previous quarter. All respondents said new orders declined, and that global economic uncertainty was their main risk.
SOUTHEAST ASIA: THAILAND 79 VS 81, PHILIPPINES 75 VS 67, SINGAPORE 50 VS 50; INDONESIA AT 75, MALAYSIA AT 64
The second-most optimistic businesses were in Thailand, where a military government is restructuring state-controlled firms. Four of seven respondents reported a positive outlook with the global economy as their main risk factor. Four booked a rise in new orders compared with seven in the prior quarter.
The Philippines was in third place with 75, recovering from a drop to 67 in the fourth quarter. It was matched by Indonesia, which was not represented in the previous survey, whereas Malaysia - also absent last time around - was at 64.
Singaporean firms were again the least positive with a reading of 50, identical to the previous two quarters.
(Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
