Picking up pace, India has jumped 13 positions from the previous year and ranked second among the 30 developing nations this year with regards to the ease of doing business, according to a study of A.T. Kearney 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which ranks top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide. China has retained the top slot for the second successive year. This year's list showed that India moved 13 positions from last year when it was ranked at 15th, below Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, among others.
According to GRDI report, an improvement in the growth of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and enhanced clarity with regards to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations supported India to reach a second rank. The report further said that India has also become the world's fastest growing economy. That coupled with a large population base and the easing of FDI regulations in the sector has made it an even more attractive market.
The GRDI which analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables to help retailers devise successful global strategies to identify emerging market investment opportunities, highlighted that India's retail sector has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing the $1 trillion mark. India's retail sector has also benefited from the rapid growth in e-commerce. India is the world's second largest internet market and the increasing internet and smartphone penetration is contributing to the expansion of e-commerce.
However, it also cautioned that the bottlenecks in infrastructure such as complex regulations, labour laws, high rates of labour attrition, and restricted good quality retail space are still the areas of concern for retailer.
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