Investors in India lead the Asia-Pacific region in having confidence in their own economy, followed by those on the Chinese mainland, according to a survey by financial services provider ING.

 

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents in India and 71 percent on the Chinese mainland believed their home economies would improve over the next three months, said the survey report.

 

Malaysia followed with 60 percent, while Japan was at the bottom with only 26 percent.

 

Meanwhile, 31 percent of the mainland respondents thought share prices on the home market would "rise considerably" over the next three months, compared with 15 percent in Singapore and 14 percent in India.

 

Another 39 percent of mainland respondents expected a slight rise on the stock market.

 

Investors in mature economies were conservative, while those in China and India were "extremely optimistic due to short investing history", said the report, suggesting a possible correlation between investors' sophistication and their confidence.

 

The survey also showed investors who intended to invest in properties were most interested in China, followed by Australia and Vietnam.

 

The survey was based on interviews with 1,308 investors in 13 countries and regions, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2007)