Wednesday, September 25, 2002
ECONOMY
FDI: India Nosedives To 15th Slot
Our Corporate Bureau
New Delhi, Sepember 24: India has slipped eight positions to the 15th spot in the list of most attractive foreign investment destinations while China has upstaged the United States to move into the top slot, according to the latest foreign direct investment (FDI) confidence index report released by management consulting firm AT Kearney on Tuesday.
"While investor attractiveness declined across nearly all markets this year,China bucked the global trend. Investors are increasingly more attracted to the Chinese market and more optimistic about its economy," AT Kearney stated in a press release.
While India suffered a 20 per cent decline in likelihood of receiving FDI, its position among the US and Japanese investors is holding steady and its attractiveness improved significantly among non-financial services, whose investment likelihood increased by 28 per cent over 2001.
The annual survey of chief executive officers, chief financial officers, and other top executives of Global-1,000 companies revealed that simmering conflict with Pakistan, budget deficits and poor infrastructure are the main deterrents in the minds of foreign investors.
On the positive side, India's high quality and low cost information technology talents have attracted more IT-related outsourcing services. Telecom and utilities investors consider India as their 25th most attractive investment destination.
In contrast to China, the US's FDI prospects have been dampened by a slow economic recovery, stock market volatility, corporate scandals and continuing concerns about homeland security.
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