November 21, 2008

Indian firms most confident among BRIC nations—KPMG study

According to a KPMG business outlook survey, Indian service sector companies are the most confident lot among BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations, with 60% of them expecting increased business activity in the coming year.

The report said that Indian service companies are also the most optimistic regarding profits. Company profitability in the region is expected to increase strongly over the next year. It added that "Higher workloads are predicted to support a robust pace of job creation across the BRIC nations. Around 37% of service providers anticipate growth of employment, with Russian and Indian firms the most upbeat."

However, more than half of the service providers in the region expect operating costs to raise in 12 months, mainly due to higher raw material prices, staff salaries and outsourcing costs.

The report said that "Service providers are confident that revenues will rise over the coming year. Higher new orders, improving market conditions and the introduction of new products were cited as the main factors likely to support growth of revenues."

Among the service providers, financial intermediaries were most optimistic about higher business activities. About 58% of the companies surveyed believe that BRIC service providers will see growth in volumes of new businesses.