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India, Australia see the brightest economic recovery: Survey
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 20 May 2010, 22:56 IST
New Delhi: Senior financial executives across Asia and Australia see the brightest outlook for economic recovery, compared with their peers in other countries, and plan to invest in growth by actively tapping new markets, according to an American Express/CFO Research Survey. The survey also shows a robust hiring outlook with 85 percent of Indian respondents citing plans to increase headcount in 2010, reports The Economic Times.
These findings were released in the third annual American Express/CFO Research Global Business & Spending Monitor, a survey of 479 senior finance executives from the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Asia, and Australia. Asia/Australia represents 35 percent of responses, and India makes up 21percent of that subset.
Executives worldwide report a more positive economic outlook, indicating that a sustained recovery is taking hold. Nearly three-quarters of all respondents anticipate economic expansion for their countries over the next 12 months, while only 10 percent expect contraction. This is the highest percentage of respondents indicating that they expect economic expansion in their countries in the three years the American Express/CFO Research study has been fielded.
Senior finance executives from around the world are exhibiting growing optimism about economic recovery but are proceeding with caution investing in categories that will boost growth such as sales and product development while selectively increasing discretionary spending in areas like marketing and technology. At the same time, companies continue to closely manage the bottom line and maintain the strong financial discipline that was renewed during the recession.
When asked about the greatest threats to their companies' plans for business expansion around the world over the next 12 months, respondents based in India (64 percent) are significantly more likely than many of their peers in other countries (44 percent of all respondents) to cite regulatory barriers as a threat to their companies' expansion plans. Indian respondents also frequently cite imprecise information on the size and timing of business opportunities and unfavorable currency exchange rates as threats to global expansion.