Indian business optimism dips to 4-year low but business leaders remain positive: Grant Thornton

27 Dec 2017 Evaluate

Grant Thornton in its latest International Business Report (IBR) has said that business leaders in India remained largely positive, but their level of optimism has dropped to its lowest level in four years. According to the report, Asia Pacific business optimism has hit a 2-year high, mainly on account of improvements from its two biggest economies, China and Japan, and region-wide positivity on prospects for increased trade.

The report titled ‘Asia Pacific: trading and thriving’ stated that India's optimism mostly remained positive at 78 percent, but dropped to its lowest level in four years. Besides, Australia and New Zealand are on the same boat too, as optimism in Australia dropped to 58 percent from 75 percent a year ago and New Zealand is down to 68 percent, the lowest in two years. Besides, Grant Thornton's IBR survey data showed that India's businesses are the most positive in the region (58 percent) when it comes to the opportunity presented by increasing spending power of the rising middle class. The biggest threat to the region cited by businesses is the trend of ageing populations, followed by regional conflict regarding competing territorial claims and the rebalancing of China's economy.

Vishesh C Chandiok, National Managing Partner, Grant Thornton India has said that in the last 12 months, businesses in India have had to deal with the impact of radical reforms such as demonetisation, country-wide consolidated indirect tax and a new bankruptcy regime. However, he also said with the largest gain of any country in the ‘World Bank ease of doing business ranking’ and favourable macro-economic conditions, India remains one of the few bright spots in the global economy. Rodger Flynn, Grant Thornton regional head for Asia-Pacific has said that businesses across the region are grappling with a range of economic, cultural and political challenges, despite their overall positive outlook. If left unaddressed, these challenges could overshadow the growth prospects the report has identified.

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