India among best places to tide over crisis

India has been ranked as third best country that will tide over the global economic crisis by a worldwide survey among business persons to understand the business morale and impact of the economic downturn.

According to the Servcorp International Business Confidence Survey India has been ranked as the third most promising country to survive the economic crisis.

The survey which was conducted in April 2009 over a period of two weeks, was commissioned to understand the current mood, business morale and impact the economic downturn has had on businesses around the world.

Australia has been voted as the best place to be during these recessionary times by international business people, followed by China.

The third position is held jointly by India and Singapore while Hong Kong and Canada are in the fifth and sixth place respectively.

Interestingly, developing nations have emerged favourites among international businessmen as places which are best placed to tide over the recession as 21 of the 36 countries listed by the Servcorp International Business Confidence Survey are emerging market economies.

As part of the survey, Servcorp asked 7,500 international business people from over 24 nations to identify which nations they believe are surviving the crisis best.

As per international businessmen the other most promising countries include Japan, Qatar, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sweden, Vietnam, Netherlands, US, Indonesia, South America, France, Belgium, England, Korea, South Africa, Austria, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Russia, UAE, Brazil, Morocco, Philippines, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand.

However, the Australian business people, think Australia is the best place to be during this recessionary time, and have ranked India in the sixth place along with Canada and Qatar.

As per the Australian Perspective, Australia is the best country for surviving the economic crisis, followed by China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Canada, India, Qatar and the Netherlands among others.

Analysts forecast India's annual expansion for the full 2008-09 year at 6.5 per cent, sharply down from 9 per cent or more in the previous three years, but still bullish when compared to other major developed economies.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had on Thursday said India's growth could be close to 7 per cent in 2008-09, and his priority was to lift the economy to a higher trajectory.