85% Indian firms optimistic on economic recovery, says survey

Corporate India is among the fourth most optimistic globally as 85 per cent of the businesses are hopeful of economic recovery, compared to 48 per cent in China, a survey has said.

The Grant Thornton International Business Report says that in the first quarter of 2017, 85 per cent respondents were optimistic about economic recovery.

India is ranked fourth on the global optimism index during the January-March quarter of 2017 and is behind economies like Indonesia, Philippines and Malta.

Moreover, Indian businesses are optimistic about most facets like employment with 56 per cent respondents expecting a rise and profitability expectations where 55 per cent are optimistic of an increase.

However, the country is significantly ahead of China where 48 per cent respondents are optimistic about economic growth.

"Indian businesses continue their optimism in business over a long period of time as compared to all larger economies like China, US, Europe including UK, etc," Grant Thornton India LLP Partner - India leadership team, Harish HV said.

This shows the confidence of the business and a positive reflection on government policies, he said adding implementation of GST should give a further boost.

"The overall increase in global optimism is a positive signal that we can expect businesses to perform even better in future and that is reflected in the Indian stock markets," Harish HV said.

The report was prepared on the basis of results of a quarterly conducted global business survey of 2,600 businesses in 37 countries including India.

The survey said lack of finance and strong ICT infrastructure remain the biggest concerns for corporates in India.

While India ranks second in citing regulations and red tape as growth constraints, there is a constant decline in number of respondents who agree with this.

In the first quarter of this year, 56 per cent of the respondents have quoted this as an obstacle against 57 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2016.