China was ranked as the most favorable country outside of the US for business investment, according to the latest survey released yesterday by a leading global consulting agency.

The survey, entitled Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing, has been conducted every three years since 1996 by Development Counsellors International. This is the first year the survey asked respondents to rank business favorability for the world's 25 largest countries in terms of GDP, excluding the US.

The survey found that of the total 281 corporate executives interviewed, about 53.2 percent named China as the most favorable country for investment. India was second with 45.1 percent, followed by Mexico with 30.1 percent, the United Kingdom with 25.4 percent and Canada with 22 percent.

For the corporate decision-makers who consider the Chinese market as the most favorable business climate, they valued three factors highly, including "growing economy or business opportunities", accounting for 53 percent of the total interviewees, "labor (cost)", according to 41 percent of those questioned and "low overall or operating costs", 21 percent said.

When asked to identify the most likely section for their companies' next move or expansion, respondents most commonly answered "manufacturing or production plants," (particularly among medium-sized companies). This was followed by "corporate, division or regional headquarters" and "regional sales office or service centers."

The survey audience consisted of 3,591 US companies with annual revenues of $25 million or above.

(China Daily July 30, 2008)