Mumbai:
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India are optimistic
about economic growth in the country, with almost 79 per
cent expecting it to accelerate, says an HSBC Asia-Pacific
Small Business Confidence Survey.
India
emerged as the most optimistic country in the survey,
which was conducted in nine countries in the Asia Pacific,
including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia,
Australia, Indonesia and China. Around 1,800 SMEs were
surveyed in the first quarter of 2007.
The
SMEs surveyed in India had an annual sales turnover of
less than $11 million. While 36 per cent of Indian SMEs
said they would make more investments in their business
this year, 64 per cent said that they had no such plans.
Puneet
Chaddha, Head, Commercial Banking, India HSBC, said: "SME
investments were mainly for increasing capacity or hiring
new talent. What is significant is that SMEs are not cutting
down their production."
Chaddha
expects SMEs in India to sustain a growth rate of 25-30
per cent this year. "The SME sector accounts for
50 per cent of the exports and is the second largest employment
provider, next to agriculture," Chaddha said.
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