Chinese investors are regaining their confidence, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING), which found investor sentiment rose four quarters in a row.

The investor sentiment index for China rose to 158 in the second quarter of this year, up from 124 in the first quarter and nearing a high of 164 scored in the third quarter of 2007, according to the survey by the financial service provider based in the Netherlands.

This made China the second most "optimistic" market in Asia after India, according to the report.

A sentiment score above 120 is considered "optimistic", and "very optimistic" above 160, while a reading between 80 and 120 is "neutral" and anything below is "pessimistic".

Zhao Hanlong, a senior investment manager of the ING Investment Management Asia Pacific, said such a high reading in China was not surprising, as stimulus measures by the government had been proved effective in countering the economic slowdown.

He cited the country's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The figure had been above a reading of above 50, which suggests expansion, for four consecutive months till June.

The rising investor sentiment was based on faith in the ability of the government to realize the target of 8-percent growth this year, and also on signs of a recovery in the slowing economy following the government stimulus, said the report.

Ninety percent of the surveyed investors said they believed the country's 4-trillion-yuan (588-billion-U.S.-dollar) stimulus package,announced in November, was having a positive influence on the economy.

Seventy-eight percent said they believed the economy would expand at the target rate of 8 percent this year, or even more, with an average forecast of 9.4 percent.

The survey, conducted in June through online interviews, covered more than 1,300 Chinese investors aged over 30 and with assets of at least 100,000 U.S. dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2009)