Indian SMEs upbeat in a sea of uncertainty

SME Indian businesses are the third most optimistic in Asia after Bangladesh and Vietnam. According to the biannual HSBC Asia-Pacific Small Business Confidence Monitor, 98 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expecting to maintain their headcounts or increase them.

The survey was conducted across 3,000 SMEs in 10 Asian nations in October and November 2008. The results indicate that SMEs in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam were the most optimistic while those of Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong were the most pessimistic.

Thirty-eight per cent of India’s small businesses are optimistic about the economic outlook as compared with 59 per cent six months ago. Forty-seven per cent of India’s small businesses intended to increase capital expenditure, and another 46 per cent planned to maintain capital expenditure at the same levels.